Forever Legendary
by Shaded Skies
Summary: The brash Pikablu hunts down Legendary Pokémon in the hopes of becoming one himself. Even with powers beyond that of any regular Pokémon and two comrades to constantly screw around with, his lighthearted demeanor belies something far more sinister...
1. The Legendary Celebi

Many eyewitnesses claim to have spotted the legendary Pokemon Celebi near the shrine in Ilex Forest, Jotho. Celebi is known to be a Grass/Psychic-Type and is said to be able to transcend time. It is highly valuable, and a more thorough research of Ilex Forest is being prepared.

_- We're there, dude!_

_

* * *

_

Another peaceful morning had come and gone at Ledian's Café. Tying an apron tightly around her stomach and grabbing various utensils in her four arms, the eager Ledian stood ready to face the torrent of hungry customers that would surely be stacking up in droves before long.

Instead, the only thing she was greeted by was yet another peaceful afternoon, much like every other day. Being situated in Azalea Town near the infamous Pokeball inventor Kurt did its best to keep anything but the locals away, and her rural café had become a habitat for less than a dozen regulars. Still, every day she got worked up, hoping that today would be the day that she would finally get to show what she was capable of.

"This seems to be the place…" a voice could be heard from outside the cafe. Ledian's interest piqued. She didn't recognize the voice, it was deep and very masculine.  
"'Bout time! My feet are killing me!" another voice came from outside. Another voice she didn't recognize, although this one was fairly high pitched. The doors opened slowly with a dull creek. All the regulars looked over to see if it was someone they knew, but were surprised as they saw three unfamiliar figures standing at the entrance.

The first figure was short as well as brightly yellow, and most of them could see that it was a Pikachu. The second figure was tall and very handsome, which most of the women instantly recognized as a Gallade. However, no one knew what kind of Pokémon the third one was. It stood on two legs with a brown, hard shell covering its body and face, with two giant scythes sticking out of its body.

"Hey!" the Pikachu said loudly, "Does anyone here know the way to Ilex Forest?"  
"No, eat!" the Gallade whined, "We've been traveling for days! I was ten seconds away from nibbling on one of those stinkin' Zubats!"  
"Instead of the other way around…?" the shelled one sneered. His bites hadn't been as bad, thanks to his rock-hard body.  
"Alright, let's get something to eat before the big fight!" the Pikachu said with a big smile, "Lady, we'd like to order some food! Something dry, please!"  
"C-Coming right up!" the Ledian said quickly as she rushed into the kitchen, threw the utensils up into the air, combined several ingredients, threw the food up as well, caught the utensils on their way down and started working on the exquisite cuisine in midair.

The trio had barely gotten seated before the Ledian came out with three plates of Pamtre Poffin servings. However, even she was blinded by the speed of which the three of them started eating ravenously the moment the plates had been set down.  
"E-Enjoy!" she exclaimed with a smile, before looking over at the brown, shelled one. She didn't see a mouth anywhere, but the food was still disappearing into its body just fine.  
"Excuse me, but…" she asked after a few moments, not wanting to be rude but the curiosity eating her up, "… What kind of Pokemon are you?"  
"Kabu*CHOMP*tops" the Pikachu said between bites, "You won't *SNARF* find many of those *BITE*around here."  
"Or anywhere, seeing how we're extinct…" the Kabutops said, courteous enough to not talk while eating.  
"Ah… Uh… Impressive!" the Ledian said while at a loss for words, before trying to change the subject, "So… What brings you all here to Azalea Town?"  
"Celebi" the Pikachu said bluntly, making a few of the regulars turn around and look at him, "Well… Mostly, anyway."  
"E-Excuse me!" the Ledian yelled in surprise, "Did you say 'Celebi'? As in THE Celebi?"  
"Yeah, that *MUNCH*one" the Pikachu said, swallowing down his last bite in a hurry, "You wouldn't have some kind of dark town secret, would you? It might help point us in the right direction."  
"But…" the Ledian was at a loss for words once more, "But… Celebi is a legendary Pokemon! What do you want to do with it?"  
"Oh…" the Pikachu said while drifting off for a while, "I'm gonna beat it up, of course!"

Now everyone in the café was looking at them.  
"B-Blasphemy!" the Ledian burst out, "Celebi is the mother of all Pokémon! Why would you…"  
"Nah, you're confusing it with Mew" the Pikachu said with a smile, "Although I'm gonna beat her up as well when I find her." Neither the Ledian nor the regulars could believe what they were hearing.  
"Infidel!" one of the regulars shouted from behind them, "You think we're going to let you!"  
"See, what's going on right here is the reason I'm going to find Celebi and beat it up" the Pikachu said loudly with anger forming in his voice, "Have any of you ever met a legendary Pokémon? Have they ever done anything for you? No, yet still they garner such admiration and respect! Why is that!" The Pikachu leaned back with a confident smile, before he jumped up on the table and pointed up to the sky.  
"Know this!" he shouted, "I am the Pokémon that shall surpass the legendaries! I shall become a legend myself! **I AM PIKABLU!**"

Everyone started laughing.  
"You won't be beating anyone up!" the Ledian said, "Legendary Pokémon are far stronger than we are! Everyone, they're just joking, calm down…"  
"Joking?" Pikablu said as he got off the table, "I'll have you know, I've spent the last 5 years perfecting a legendary-killing tec-"  
"Please, don't cause another scene" the Ledian said calmly, tired of this silly display, "Just pay for your meal and leave."  
"Pay? Hah!" the Pikachu scoffed, "Nah, I'd rather just fight instead."  
"Um…" the Ledian mumbled, "Excuse me?"  
"Yeah!" the Pikachu exclaimed, "Let me beat your strongest fighter, and if I win we go free."  
"A-Are you out of your mind!" the Ledian said hopelessly, "That's not how things work! You have to pay!"  
"Maybe we should pay…?" the Kabutops said in a voice devoid of all emotion, "They might get angry…"  
"Eh, who cares?" the Pikachu said with a cocky smile, "Food was crap. It's not like we're coming back here, anyway." The Ledian couldn't believe it. Finally she gets some new customers, she works so hard to feed them, and then they turn out to be a bunch of douche bags!  
"Seems that we are at an impasse" the Gallade said in a smooth voice, having remained silent until now, "How about this? Pikachu'll fight your strongest fighter, _and_ you get to give me a kiss."  
"W-What!" the Ledian stammered angrily, "Who'd want to do that!" The Gallade lowered his head in shame and Pikablu laughed at the rejection, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"I've had it!" the Ledian finally burst out, "Either pay, or I'm getting the police!"  
"Wait!" one of the regulars suddenly shouted before standing up from the table. It was an Armaldo, a very large and intimidating one.  
"Let me fight him" the Armaldo said, "It will be my pleasure to teach this lowlife some manners."  
"Oh, a Rock-Type?" Pikablu said before flexing his arms, "I might actually have to get serious!"  
"NOT IN HERE, YOU DOLTS!" the Ledian cried with all her might, "TAKE IT OUTSIDE!"  
"Alright! Thanks for the food, lady!" Pikablu yelled as he ran outside. The Gallade and Kabutops quickly followed.  
"No, wait, you still have to pa-" the Ledian started.  
"Don't worry" the Armaldo interrupted, "I'll make him pay. I'll make him pay double." He absolutely beamed of confidence as he left the café to face the Pokémon that had ruined his afternoon by insulting the owner of his favorite café.

Five minutes later, he's surrounded by onlookers staring at his magnificent café-owner protecting body. He's also unconscious.  
"No way!" one of the onlookers shouted, "Aren't Rock-Types supposed to be strong against electricity?"  
"Common misconception" the Kabutops sighed, "Ground-Types are, which many Rock-Types are as well. I am not, and this one wasn't."  
"Hahaha, I'm the best!" Pikablu cheered, "I didn't even have to use 25%!"  
"YOU!" the Ledian burst out of the door with a furious shout, "STOP BEATING UP MY REGULARS! AND PAY FOR YOUR MEAL!"  
"Sorry lady, but we had a deal!" Pikablu snickered before turning around, "Come on guys, let's scramble!" The three of them ran away, and the Ledian made a small effort to catch them before sighing and returning to check up on the Armaldo.

"Just wondering" the Gallade said as they were running, "If you're going to become a legendary Pokemon, shouldn't you be going around and doing heroic deeds instead of running away on the tab and beating up strangers?"  
"Still more than any of the current legendaries did!" Pikablu shouted angrily, before pointing at the Gallade, "And you! Why the hell weren't you talking in there!"  
"Hehe, remember that Lopunny we ran into in Violet City?" the Gallade laughed to himself, "She told me girls dig the strong, silent type!"  
"She only said that because you spent all night talking about yourself…" the Kabutops said depressingly, even as he was running.  
"Guys, look!" Pikablu said while increasing his speed, "It's Ilex Forest! We made it!"  
"Slow down, slow down!" the Gallade shouted, "We'll scare Celebi away like this!" But Pikablu was far too excited to stop, thinking Celebi would be waiting right behind one of the trees, and they all ran into Ilex Forest.

Although the forest was so heavily overgrown by giant trees that the sunlight hardly peeked through the leaves, it didn't take long for them to find an open road to follow. Pikablu stopped and looked around. Nothing but trees and Bug-Type Pokémon anywhere.  
"Pfft, how disappointing" he scoffed to himself, "Now where's that shrine?"  
"They said follow the road…" the Kabutops said, with slight signs of exhaustion slipping into his voice.  
"… And that's what we'll do!" Pikablu said triumphantly before starting to walk down the road, "After that meal, I feel like I can take on anyone!"  
"You'd better, Celebi is a Grass-Type…" the Kabutops muttered, "… I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Huu…" the gallade whimpered sadly after walking for a few minutes, "If I find a girl here, she'll have no arms, no legs and eyes to spare!"  
"Not to mention mandibles…" the Kabutops said in a creepy way.  
"… Pikablu, can we get out of here and go somewhere else?" the Gallade said after a while, "I guarantee Celebi wouldn't be spending its time among these creepy insects."  
"You can go whenever you feel like it" Pikablu said coldly, "Actually, why are you even here to begin with! I'm looking for legendaries, Kabutops is looking for ancient Pokémon…"  
"I told you!" the Gallade said with a hurt tone, "I'm looking for a woman worthy of my beauty!"  
"But you've found like 14 of them already!" Pikablu continued with annoyance in his voice, "You run up to every half-decent broad we come across, killing her libido for months with all that talk of your 'beauty' and their 'destiny'!"  
"I'll have you know that my track record is beyond exceptional!" the Gallade said before swiftly pounding his chest.  
"It's not that we don't acknowledge that…" Kabutops sighed, "…It's just that we don't care."  
"Oh yeah? I doubt you've even gotten laid this century!" Gallade laughed, but stopped himself as he saw Kabutops lower his head, "Wait, really? Aw geez, man, I'm sorry!"  
"Hmpf, it's not like I can't…" Kabutops sighed once more, "… I just don't want to. Women nowadays are far too soft and cuddly."  
"Don't say that! I went out with this Onix girl once…" the Gallade started while patting Kabutops' back.  
"Guys, could you please stop?" Pikablu said in a huff, "I'm trying to focus! For all we know, Celebi could be listening in on us right now!"  
"… Together with half this forest..." Kabutops said sternly and looked to his right where he saw a Weedle looking at them. She became startled, and crawled away into a bush.  
"Yet another suitor, passed on by me…" Kabutops whispered to himself while snickering.  
"… What the hell was that?" Pikablu said in shock, "Did you just laugh?"  
"… Yes" Kabutops responded with a dull tone.  
"Something was funny enough to make your stoneface move, and now you're not even going to tell us what!" Pikablu shouted angrily, startling a nearby Spearow and making it fly off. However, she didn't see where she was going in the darkness, and flew directly into a big branch, rendering her unconscious and crashing her against the ground.

The three of them saw this and laughed as they went on their way. Kabutops remained silent. Not long after that, they came across the shrine. It was small and made out of wood, just barely standing out against the sea of trees. They approached it, but before any of them could say anything, a small creature appeared on top of the shrine. They were all very surprised by this, and stumbled backwards. At a first impression, they saw that creature was covered in green leaves and brown mud with hints of yellow flashing through.

Then Pikablu saw what it was. He started to sweat profoundly. For a moment all the pain and grief lifted from his heart, and he wanted to do no more but to run up to him, hug him, hold him close forever…

"Pii-Chu!" the little creature exclaimed cutely.  
"A-A Pichu!" the Gallade exhaled in relief, "Covered in mud and leaves? Geez, I thought it was Celebi!"  
"You might not be the first one…" Kabutops sighed deeply, "… And in that case, we were led astray."  
"Pii-chu pichu-u!" the Pichu said.  
"Look at its ear!" the Gallade said while pointing at its ear, which had a few tufts of hair sticking out like spikes, "It's kind of jagged or something! Is that normal?"  
Pikablu stood frozen.  
"Hey, Pikablu!" the Gallade said while knocking him on the head, "I'm talking to you!"  
"Uh, wha-" Pikablu said while coming out of the daze, "Huh? No, not really."  
"Pich-Pich-Chuu!" the Pichu said, while jumping up and down.  
"She can't even talk, must be an infant" Pikablu said with traces of malice in his voice, "So Celebi wasn't here? Damn it, we came here for nothing!"  
"A big disappointment…" Kabutops said depressingly, "… Then again, it's not really a disappointment if you already know you're going to fail…"  
"Pichuuuuu!" the Pichu suddenly cried, jumping right at Pikablu.

"No!" Pikablu shouted as he took a step back, "Stay away, you creepy little thing!"  
"Aw, will ya look at that?" the Gallade said softly, "She must think you're her father!"  
"I'm not your daddy!" the Pikablu said, still trying to avoid the advancing Pichu, "See? My ears are normal!"  
"Curious little skit…" Kabutops mumbled happily, "Ah, to have a family…"  
"OK, one more step and I'm going to fry you like a Magikarp!" Pikablu finally said, standing firm and shooting electricity from his body. The Pichu was startled by this and fell backwards.  
"Whoa, cool it!" the Gallade shouted, "It's just a bit curious!"  
"Oh yeah? Well, it's making me uneasy!" Pikablu said, not wanting to completely divulge the daze he had ended up in earlier. The Pichu looked at him confused, then walked up to him again.  
"One more step, and I'm gonna thunderbolt this entire area!" Pikablu threatened, with more electricity escaping his body.  
"You're not serious, are you!" the Gallade said frightfully, "No, stop it! It can't even understand what you're saying!" The Pichu proved this by taking yet another step towards the raging Pikablu, trying to comprehend what was going on. As Pikablu started with fury into her big eyes, a memory long hidden within him suddenly sprung to life.

_You're the best, big bro!_

"… Forget it" Pikablu said, ceasing the electricity and turning around to leave, "Our mission was a failure. Let's go."  
"Finally!" the Gallade said happily, "Now where to? Goldenrod? It's supposedly the best-"

_You're the best, big bro!_

"You, shut up!" Pikablu shouted while shaking his head and pointing at the surprised Gallade, "YES we're going to Golderod and YES they have the best looking girls!"  
"Uh…" the Gallade stammered, "I was going to say 'the best groomers', but this suits me fine too!"  
"You get grumpy whenever we do not find a legendary…" Kabutops sighed slowly, "… When we do find one, I shall be awaiting your reaction with expectations…"  
"Oh sorry, could you extend that sentence a little more? It felt a little short" Pikablu said with sarcasm before regaining his usual demeanor, "Anyway! Let's go to Goldenrod to enjoy the food and girls, while we figure out or next target!"  
"Oh, hell yeah!" the Gallade exclaims happily, "Now I can…"

"Wait, is that…!" a loud voice sounded from behind them, making them go silent and turn around. It was a human. A young female, with a Pokeball in her left hand and several more clipped to her belt.  
"A Pikachu! In this forest!" the female trainer said surprised before she suddenly squealed, "Kyaaa, it's so cute! Boy, am I lucky!"  
The Gallade started laughing, as Pikablu took a few steps forward. Then, he spat on the ground and struck an intimidating pose.

"Bring it, bitch."

* * *

The battle of fates was now over. Pushing himself to his very limits, he had been so close to victory… But as his battered body lay immobile on the ground, he knew that he had let everyone down.

"Oh, Armaldo! My courageous Armaldo!" a sweet voice sounded from above him. A Ledian…?

"Forgive me, my dear…" he whimpered in a manly kind of way, "I let them get away with the money…"

"Never mind the money, what about you!" she wailed sadly, "Why did you fight so bravely for my sake! I…"

"Oh, sweet Ledian, if only you knew…" he said with a sad chuckle, "The truth is, I've always…"

"Oh, Armaldo!" she cried while embracing him.

"Ledian…" he responded as they started to kiss passionately.

"WAKE UP!" a voice resounded, and Armaldo felt a sharp pain in the groin. He quickly sat up and saw a furious Ledian next to him.

"You lazy bastard!" she yelled angrily, "You said you'd take care of it, so I didn't have time to get the police before they had escaped!

"L-Ledian…?" he said confused, "W-What…?"

"What do you mean 'what'! Get your ass in gear, go hunt them down and make them pay!" the Ledian said in a huff before throwing her fists up into the air, "I. AM. SO. PISSED!"

The Armaldo rose to his feet, clutching his pained nether region before walking away. And even though he had been a regular at Ledian's Café for several years, he knew that he would not be returning any time soon.


	2. The Legendary Darkrai

Made popular through the 'Explorer' film series, Darkrai has finally been confirmed as a real Pokémon. Much like its lore, it is a Dark/Ghost-Type Pokémon possessing the ability to reside within dreams, and particularly enjoys nightmares. Many rumors still surround this famous being, as it remains uncaught and could be hiding somewhere in our minds.

_- If it exists, I can take it down. Now, how to create a nightmare…_

_

* * *

_

In the western part of Goldenrod, there was an abandoned building. It was not as much abandoned as it was populated by Pokémon, although most of its inhabitants were away at the moment having been scared off by three very powerful Pokémon. The doors to the building flew open, as the leader rejoined his team.

"So!" the Gallade exclaimed excitedly while standing up, "Where will we be going next?"  
"Nowhere" Pikablu responded bluntly, closing the door and carefully placing the bag on the floor.  
"Finally given up…?" Kabutops asked, leaning against one of the walls.  
"No, we're going nowhere because the next legendary..." Pikablu said with a short pause for effect, "… Does not even exist in this world." They both stood silent as Pikablu reached into the bag and pulled out a ripped out newspaper article as well as jar filled with a pink gas. The two of them read the article slowly.  
"… Darkrai?" the Gallade said after a while, "What, from that movie?"  
"If I remember correctly…" Kabutops said while pointing at the article with a sharp sickle, "… He only appears in nightmares."  
"And nightmares we shall have!" Pikablu exclaimed happily while shaking the jar, "'Tis a vial of dream smoke, imported directly from Isshu!"  
"Are you kidding me, right?" the Gallade said with a laugh, "Besides, we'd need nightmares, not normal dreams!"  
"That's the best part!" Pikablu said as he turned the bag upside down and many various papers fell out, "Scary stories! Paranormal pictures! Nothing but the best!"

They both started at Pikablu awkwardly.  
"Did he finally snap or something…?" the Gallade whispered to Kabutops with a worried look.  
"He has been in the state of snapping for almost a year now" Kabutops sighed heavily.  
"What!" Pikablu shouted, slightly distraught at their skepticism, "Darkrai enjoys nightmares, and we're going to have the worst nightmares anyone's ever had! Who's to say this won't work?"  
"For starters, because we're three manly men!" the Gallade said as he stood tall, "You think some silly ghost stories are going to give us nightmares!"  
"Not just stories! Pictures, too!" Pikablu said, before pulling out a picture of a strange, hazy creature.  
"The fabled Ghost-Eeveelution!" he shouted, "It's the only one of its kind! Look at it! It's got no limbs and has the face of a Gastly! Doesn't that just send chills down your spine!"  
"Quite frankly, no…" Kabutops sighed, "How do we even defeat Darkrai if it appears in our dreams…?"  
"At this point, if it simply shows up that'd be enough for me!" Pikablu chuckles, "After that, I'll figure something out! Come on guys, let's do this!"  
"No, this is insane!" the Gallade responded while throwing his arms up into the air, "_You're_ insane! There's no way this will work!"  
"I agree…" Kabutops said while nodding his head, "… Although, that dream smoke would go wasted if we didn't try…"  
"That's what I thought!" Pikablu said with relief.  
"You're the one who bought it in the first place!" the Gallade yelled before looking at Kabutops, "Aw come on, you're not going with him on this, are you?"  
"It'll be interesting!" Pikablu said while lying down on the floor, "And if you happen to come across Darkrai and beat it up while you're in there, our mission will be a success!"  
"I'm just feeling a bit tired…" Kabutops said while also lying down on the floor, "… Couldn't hurt."  
"… Crazy" the Gallade sighed before lying down, "But, eh, might as well try."  
"You sure you don't want to hear a creepy story?" Pikablu asked.  
"I'm sleeping next to you two psychopaths!" the Gallade said, "If I _don't_ have nightmares there's something wrong with me."  
"Alright then, here goes…" Pikablu said as he tried to undo the cork on the bottle. He tried and tried, but his stubby hands couldn't do it. Angered, he threw the vial against the wall, crashing it and letting out the smoke.  
"Nice handywork there, boss" the Gallade snickered.  
"Shut up!" Pikablu shouted, "It's coming! Focus on the single worst moment on your life, and possibly Darkrai!"  
Everyone went quiet, as the gas approached. Within ten seconds they started to feel drowsy, and suddenly it felt like their bodies were being lifted into the sky, through the ceiling where-

"Bich bzo! Bich bzo!" a happy voice chimes. It's my little brother, Pichu! He's running towards me from some kind of cave, on a grassy field… Wait, how did I get here, again…?  
"Loogh whach I founsh! Loogh!" he laughs, while holding up something in his mouth. However, he was too excited, and the object accidently falls into the back of his mouth. As a reflex, he swallows.  
"Aah! Pichu!" I yell, my heart palpitating in terror. My brother keels over as if the artifact had gotten stuck in his throat, not letting him breathe.  
"Brace yourself!" I shout, as I grab a hold of him from behind and send a thunderjolt through his body. He cries out, and whatever was lodged in his throat flew out. He starts coughing a bit.  
"You've got to learn to stand on your own two legs!" I shout in anger, although I am actually feeling relieved that he isn't choking anymore, "You can't go around carrying things in your mouth all your life!"  
"I know, I know…" he mutters, "… But you've gotta look at it!"

I sigh as I bend over the pick up the object from the ground. It was a tiny sapling with two leaves sticking out of it, both of which were still slimy from my brother's saliva.

"It's a plant from Celebi!" he says excitedly while jumping up and down, "I found it in that cave!"  
"Not this again…" I sigh, "What's with all this talk about legendary Pokémon? You have to-"  
"LOOK!" he shouts really loudly, and the plant in my hand starts moving around. At first I think it might be the wind, but notice that it's moving back and forth in a rhythm.  
"I TOLD YOU SO!" Pichu shouts again, "Celebi was in that cave!"  
"Oh, brother…" I sigh again, "Do you know how many Grass-Type Pokémon there are in the world? This could easily have been done by a normal Venusaur, or Vileplume…"  
"Nu-uh!" he says quickly, "Celebi is Grass and Psychic, it can make plants and make them move!"  
"Listen, you've got to stop with all this talk about legendaries!" I say, both tired of this conversation and worried about his future, "No one ever finds a legendary Pokémon! Keep talking like that, and everyone will think you're weird!"  
"B-But…" my brother stammers with a sad face, "Mom and dad…"  
"Aw come on, why would you need a legendary when I'm here with you?" I quickly say, fearing that he might start crying unless I change the subject, "I can do all that stuff, and better!"  
"Yeah…" he says quietly before snapping out of his sulk with a beaming face, "You're the best, big bro!"  
"You know it!" I laugh, and-

-running towards the cliff. The Butterfree was not slowing down one bit, but dread was making my body heavy and I had to stop and catch my breath.  
"J-Just…" I breathe wearily, "L-Let's slow d-down a b-"  
"Fool!" the Butterfree shouts as she turns around angrily, "We are racing with death! Each breath could be his last!  
"D-DON'T SAY THAT!" I scream in anguish, before facing my exhaustion in battle and running once more, "Just show me the way, damn it!"

Not before long, we reach the cliff. The Butterfree hovers above the deep chasm, as I run up to the edge and look down. There is a fairly large gathering of Pokémon down there, all surrounding a small yellow dot right beneath me.

"PICHU!" I bellow in desperation, throwing myself off the cliff in an attempt to get closer. I only fall a few feet, before something grabs a hold my torso and slows me down.  
"LET ME GO!" I shout while twisting around violently, still not close enough to identify the yellow dot.  
"You dumb bastard!" the Butterfree yells as she slowly flutters down the cliff "What the hell are you thinking! You want to die too!"  
At the sound of these words, I calm down. As I look down at the yellow dot, I start to imagine that it is actually my brother down there, and I wonder if I maybe did want to die. If my sole ray of light in the world had been extinguished, if the one person that was more important to my than life itself had really died like this, could I possibly live with that? Then I get closer-

-twisted beyond my comprehension.  
"B-Big…" he says, before coughing up a wad of blood.  
"Don't talk! Save your energy!" I try to scream, but all the air is dissipating from my lungs, "You'll be fine!"  
"B-Bro…" he weakly stutters.  
"That's right, I'm your big bro and you're my little bro!" I yell back as the tears flow down my face, "You… You shouldn't be the one lying there!"  
"S-Sorry…" he rattles as his tiny little body starts to shake, "D-Didn't s-see… F-Fall…"  
"Damn it, stop talking!" I wail and try to hold him still, "The two of us are brothers! You can't just leave me behind!"  
"I… I t-touched h-her…" he wheezes as his broken left arm moves a little, "… I-it was a 'she'…"  
His eyes close and his body goes limp. I start shaking him while crying and screaming, and my mind snaps-

-what caused it…?" the Butterfree says silently, moving a bit closer to the grave. The grave is shaped like an electric bolt, and remains nameless at my request. It stands dark and ominous in the pouring rain, completely unlike the person it is supposed to represent.  
"His friends say he shouted that he had seen Celebi, and was following it…" the Butterfree says sadly, "But I don't think anyone would leap off a cliff as a prank…" I remain silent.  
"You know, I'd be nice if you would talk once in a while!" The butterfree says in a huff, "If not for me, you would've been lying here next to him!"

Somehow, that doesn't sound so bad. My only brother, dead because of me. If only I had told him more sharply that legendaries don't exist…! I could have prevented this, and my sweet little brother would still be with m-

-look!" the Butterfree says happily as she lands on the ground by the grave, "Flowers! Did someone plant them here?" I sit down at my usual spot in the shade from the sunlight, but after hearing what she said I move closer to the grave. There were a few green saplings sticking out of the grave. She bends over to pull one of them from the ground. I reach forward weakly to stop her, but bereft of hope and life I just slump down on the ground.

"Oh, my!" she exclaims, "Will you look at this? They're moving on their own…" She moves closer, and I look at the green sapling dancing around in her grasp. Moving green saplings growing out of my brother's grave? Didn't he…  
"Mrrn…" I mumble, my voice having been out of commission for a while, "What's so special about that…? Don't they usually move…?"  
"… Not when they're plucked out of the ground, no" the Butterfree says with a smile, "I think only Psychic-Types can do that."

I look at the sapling. It's still moving. I look at the Butterfree holding it. She's smiling.

_I touched her!_ a voice echoes in my head.

"… You did, did you…?" I whisper to myself, looking at the grave. More saplings were growing out of it.  
"What are you telling me, bro…?" I weakly mumble to myself, "… That you were right? Is this what you want to show…?"

The saplings move in unison.

"You… You really are persistent about those legendaries" I snicker. Then suddenly, immense emotions wash over me, and I start crying. Wailing, even. In front of me, I see my cute little brother chasing an unknown figure towards the cliff. I try to get up, but stumble and fall-

-my every nerve is on fire. My body rocks in convulsions of pain, followed by short moments of slightly weaker pain. How the hell did this happen, how did I get here all of a sudden!  
"Stop!" a voice sounds from somewhere, "You'll die!"  
"Stay away!" I yell, "I almost got it! I have to do this!" Determination fuels me once more, as I try to send another systematic shock through my body. It runs between my two arms, but it goes awry and a bolt of lightning shoot out of my side, causing more pain.  
However, knowing that the suffering of those legendaries will be tenfold mine when I finally perfect this technique serves to dull my-

-and as such, everything seems to be in order. I think about bringing my brother's books detailing the legendaries one more time, even though I know that I've already memorized their content. I would only be bringing them as a sort of memento. But when I pick up my bag and notice how heavy it is, I decide that my brother will have to be with me in spirit instead.

"You need any help with that?" the Butterfree snickers, rummaging through the pile of assorted tools I've left behind.  
"Come on, you know I can't bring you" I say with a short laugh, "You stick around here and wait for me!" I walk towards the exit, making sure I haven't forgotten anything important. Both in the ways of packing and farewells. I turn around to face the Butterfree one last time.  
"You know… If I come back, I'll be a legendary!" I say with determination, "And you'll be my queen, if you'll take me!"  
"Stop with the 'if' stuff, already!" the Butterfre says sadly, but with a smile on her face, "You know I'll take you any way you are when you return…"  
"Figures…" I laugh as I give her a sincere smile, "But really, thanks for taking care of me all this time, Anne"  
"Well…" Anne blushes, "Now it's your turn to pay me back! Settle for nothing lower than legend!"  
"I won't!" I cheerfully exclaim, as I turn around-

-Pichu's at the bottom of the cliff? Why! Darkrai, was there something I could've done! STOP BLEEDING, DAMN IT! Darkrai… I'm lying down? Must perfect it now, or Darkrai will kill me as Darkrai is Darkrai and Darkrai _Darkrai **Darkrai-**_

_Wake up_

Suddenly, Pikablu woke up. Confused, he sat up straight and looked around him. Furred creatures do not sweat, so the heat covering his body was almost unbearable.  
"Was that dream smoke to 'flashback', or something…?" Pikablu whispers to himself before he kicked the Gallade and Kabutops next to him at the same time.  
"Ow, what the-" the Gallade shouted groggily as Kabutops sat up in an incredible haste while making a small whimpering noise.  
"Dude, what the hell was that?" Pikablu asked.  
"Sorry, just…" Kabutops said while shaking his head, "… Nothing but a couple of bad memories."  
"Same here" Pikablu mumbled, "… Let's never to that again."  
"Well…" the Gallade said as he leaned back into the bed, "I've got nothing but good ones, so keep quiet while I catch some shut-"  
"Shut up? While you catch some shut up?" Pikablu interrupted, "We've got a mission to complete! You can sleep when you're dead!"  
"Man, where'd all that energy come from…?" the Gallade sighed as he clutched his forehead.  
"Darkrai!" Pikablu shouted, "Did any of you see it?"  
"Not unless it had a voluptuous from and a sexy Kanto accent!" the Gallade laughed, while Kabutops shook his head.  
"Ugh, fine…" Pikachu muttered disappointedly, "Go back to sleep while I figure out our next move."

As his comrades went back to sleep, Pikablu knew he was too shook up to do the same. Not just because of the earlier flashback, but also because he could've sworn that by the end of the dream, he hadn't been alone. Although true to his earlier statement he was not willing to try again, as no reward would be worth reliving those painful memories once more.

* * *

In the underground passage, a shady Mr. Mime is moving around. As two Pokémon pass by, it creeps up to them.

"Heeey, you two look like you could use something…" Mr. Mime whispers with a creepy tone, "… Something I've got." He holds up a vial of pink smoke.

"Wait, is that…" one of the Pokémon (a Haunter) says, "… Dream smoke?"

"A-HA! Didn't expect police, today!" the other one (a Scizor) says triumphantly, "You are under arrest for selling substances, right now!"

"You should relax, officer…" Mr. Mime whispers, "Just have a puff of this here dream smoke…"

"You won't get away, this time!" the Scizor shouts, hitting the Mr. Mime with a punch as fast as a bullet. The Mr. Mime falls backward, unconscious.

"You will be sleeping in custody, tonight…" the Scizor says while looking down at him, "But then your real problems will start, tomorrow!"

"Uh, Scizor? Honey?" the Haunter says worriedly, "You know that selling dream smoke is not illegal anymore, right?"

"Eh… What, now?" the Scizor says surprised, "But that was not the case, a year ago!"

"Haven't you been reading up on the new laws?" the Haunter asks, crossing her arms.

"Why should I be reading, all day…" the Scizor mumbles, "When I could be out catching criminals, right now!"

"… To avoid situations like this?" the Haunter says, looking down at the Mr. Mime.

"C-Cannot forget, right now!" the Scizors stammers, "Poker game at Snivy's, tonight!"

The two of them quickly scuffle away, as the Mr. Mime has a pleasant dream about barriers.


	3. The Legendary Ho Oh

Having been seen flying across the globe for centuries, recent rumors say that Ho-Oh currently resides on top of the Bell Tower in Ecruteak City. Officials deny all rumors regarding this, but the fact that the Bell Tower became sealed off to the general public five months ago for undisclosed reasons does nothing but enforce suspicion.

- _A legendary on top of a tower right in the middle of town? Yeah right. Still, it's nearby and we can check out the burned tower too… Let's go!_

_

* * *

_Ecruteak City

This rural town is famous throughout all of Johto for its two giant towers that can be seen from miles away. Legend has it that both Lugia and Ho-Oh were once perched atop these massive creations, scattering across the globe as a great fire claimed what would become known as 'the burned tower'. The remaining tower is being watched over with only a few people in the world have permission to climb to the top. The burned tower is housed by wild Pokémon, and is said to once have been the habitat for Entei, Suicune and Raikou. However, so many years having passed since Lugia disappeared, explorers will rarely find anything but soot and ash in this condemned building.

"Well… That was a big disappointment" the Gallade said, throwing away the tour guide and putting his elongated arms behind his head as they exited the tower.  
"We went to a burned tower, we found a burned tower…" Kabutops sighed while shaking his head, "… Finding anything but a burned tower would have been the disappointment."  
"I guess we'll only find the roaming legendaries by roaming" the Gallade snickered, "Which, might I add, we've been doing a lot of lately."  
"Who cares?" Pikablu said while wiping some ash from his face, "We've still got the main attraction left!"  
"Calling it now - Another disappointment" the Gallade quickly said, "We just went to the bottom of a tower and found nothing. Do you know what we'll find at the top of the other one? NOTHING!"  
"It's been documented several times that the legendary Ho-Oh resides on top of that tower!" Pikablu shouted as they approached the entrance to the second tower, "What, do you have a better suggestion?"  
"Yeah! There's a dance… Something… Somewhere!" the Gallade said while struggling to remember, "I heard 'dance' and was sold!"  
"… Why?" Kabutops sneered, "Because you like dancing, or like looking at humans…?"  
"Honestly, I wouldn't say no to either!" the Gallade said, before quickly trying to change the subject.

"So, uh, Pikablu!" he said flustered, "You sure you want to start with such a powerful legendary? Can't we go for Manaphy and work our way up?"  
"At this point, I'll take anything I can find" Pikablu said with a look of determination, "Don't worry, my legendary-killing techniques will be more than enough."  
"Oh yeah…" the Gallade said while looking impressed, "25% and all that. That's a pretty sweet technique! Maybe I should try to trace it…"  
"Learning that technique took me 5 years, and had me risking becoming a cripple at every moment" Pikablu said with a depressing tone, "Not to mention all the physical pain and mental anguish, of course. You do NOT want to trace it."  
"Still, to become the strongest Pokémon in the world…" the Gallade said with a dreamy expression, "Surely it was worth it?"  
"BWAHAHA!" Pikablu suddenly burst out laughing in an awkward moment, "Oh, hell! Not even remotely! My only goal in life is to get those legendaries, and to do so I needed to become stronger. I didn't have a choice. Besides, forcing all that electricity through me has got to put a lot of strain on my body, I won't live long if I keep using it."  
"What! Seriously!" the Gallade yelled startled, "Calm down with it, then! Let us help you fight the next time!"  
"Uh… I mean… " Pikablu mumbled while looking surprised, "25% isn't THAT bad… Didn't think you'd care. Even if I go all out I have plenty of time to finish this quest, you know."  
"What about afterwards…?" Kabutops asked, "… Are you not willing to live on?"  
"Not really, no" Pikablu sighed, but then for a short moment a ray of light shone through his pitch black demeanor, "Well… OK, maybe a little… See, there's this girl back home…"  
"Oh?" the Gallade said with an interested tone, "Is she hot?"  
"Dude, if you so much as look at her funny…!" Pikablu shouted angrily before calming down, "Eh, she's not your type, anyway. She's a Bug-Type."  
"… Mandibles?" Kabutops asked quietly.  
"Will you shut up about the mandibles, already!" the Gallade shouted, remembering Ilex Forest, "If I can't tell whether a girl is kissing my lips or eating them, then I'm not interested! Not to mention what kind of blo-"

Suddenly, the Gallade went quiet and stopped dead in his tracks.  
"That is rather…" Kabutops said, but silenced himself as the Gallade raised a hand at him.  
"This is bad…" the Gallade said with a troubled tone as he gritted his teeth.  
"What?" Pikablu asked with a confused look, "You sense a legendary?"  
"Worse…" the Gallade mumbled, "… Repel." They had reached the entrance to the second tower, and looked over at the entrance in silence. There was a very thin cloud of something leaking from it and hanging in the air.  
"So what? Be a man!" Pikablu said before resuming his walk.  
"No, you idiot!" the Gallade shouted as he grabbed a hold of Pikablu and pulled him back, "This isn't the normal stuff! This stuff'll paralyze us if we inhale it, and someone'll capture us!"  
"Whatever, if there's a legendary up there, some piddly Repel won't stop me!" Pikablu said as he twisted free from the Gallade, "I'll hold my breath and-"  
"No you won't!" the Gallade yelled as he grabbed a hold of Pikablu again, "Are you going to hold your breath while climbing an infinity-story building and then fighting a legendary!"  
"Eh, it's probably just at the entrance!" Pikablu laughed as he looked up at the taller Gallade, "There shouldn't be any Repel on top, unless they'd want to scare away Ho-Oh."

"... If I may break up your hug, perhaps I should mention…" Kabutops said wryly "… I am most likely immune to this."  
"What? How?" the Gallade asked, before pushing Pikablu away from him with a disgusted look.  
"I don't smell." Kabutops said bluntly.  
"Like hell, you don't!" the Gallade laughed before getting a concerned look, "I mean, uh, that's really sad. How does food taste?"  
"… Not much." Kabutops replied.  
"… Wait!" Pikablu suddenly burst out, "I just got an incredible idea!"  
"Screw this, get dance lessons, tour the world, be a god to every woman alive?" the Gallade asked hopefully.  
"Actually, it's almost as stupid as that" Pikablu as he ran up to the bag Kabutops was carrying and rummaged through it, "But at least we get a nice view with my idea!" After a while, he pulled out a rope.  
"See all those indents?" Pikablu said while looking at the tower, "We can climb the side of the building!"  
"… Screw YOU!" the Gallade yelled angrily while sharply pointing at the tower, "Do you see how tall that thing is! I'm not climbing shit!"  
"You won't have to!" Pikablu exclaimed before tying the rope around himself, "Kabutops, now it's your turn to shine!"  
"… I see." Kabutops sighed as Pikablu tied the rope around him as well.  
"Whoa, wait, what?" the Gallade stammered, thinking that he was witnessing some weird bondage ritual.  
"Kabutops is unaffected by the Repel, right?" Pikablu said while handing the rope over to the Gallade, "He'll climb the side of the building and carry us with him."  
"What the… But it's so tall!" the Gallade gasped, "How is he going to carry us all the way up there!"  
"I don't mind." Kabutops said slowly.  
"OK, so maybe my dance suggestion isn't top-notch, but anything's better than this!" the Gallade said as he reluctantly tied the rope around his waist, "Come on Kabutops, there must be something you'd rather be doing!"  
"Not really, no." Kabutops said.  
"Alright!" Pikablu said as he started inhaling and exhaling deeply, "Take a deep breath! Kabutops, you know what to do!"

They ran around the tower and inhaled deeply as they approached its side. Kabutops ran his sickles into the wall, and gave his two companions a nod. Pikablu and the Gallade holding their breaths as Kabutops put his feet on the wall, and started climbing it. Even as they were pulled up by the rope and left the ground, Kabutops remained completely unaffected by the whole ordeal as they quietly went along their way.

After climbing for a while, Kabutops could hear Pikablu mumble something, still keeping his face covered.  
"… Something to get your mind off it?" Kabutops said out loud, trying to interpret what he were saying. Pikablu nodded before mumbling something.  
"… Talk? You want me to talk?" Kabutops asked before sighing,"… I have nothing to say." Both Pikablu and the Gallade started mumbling in a pleading way.  
"… Hmpf" Kabutops huffed, "You two would not understand, anyway"  
"TALK, DAMN YOU!" Pikablu shouted, before quickly covering his face once more and has a quick spasm from the Repel surrounding them.  
"… Fine" Kabutops finally said, "… As you two know, I am not from this era of time. I lived in a land long gone, something you would refer to as pre-history. There I had a family, friends and a life. On my eleventh birthday, I was frozen deep underwater by an unknown assailant where I remained for hundreds of years before I was resurrected in a laboratory on Cinnabar Island."  
"… They ran many tests on me" he continued, "Every day, with needles and potions. Although confused and frightened, my greatest dream was to one day escape and resume my normal life. And after a few years, I managed to escape that prison…"  
"… It was then I realized that my prison stretched quite a bit further than just a laboratory" he continued as he shook his head and driving another sickle into the wall in front of him, "Trying to adapt to these new times proved to be difficult. My appearance frightens people. My demeanor confuses friends. I have tried to fit in, but it is impossible. In these times, I shall be an outcast forevermore. However much I want to go back to my life, I cannot. What has been can never be again. I am destined to remain in this world until I die."  
"I lived as a hermit for a few years, trying to learn as much of this world as possible in an attempt to be accepted" he said as the Gallade mumbled something while turning blue in the face, "During that time, there was that broadcast on a TV that I caught. The elite four tournament of the Kanto region, last year. There it was, one of the participants… An Aerodactyl."  
"A Pokémon from my times" he said as his voice got a rare, happy tone, "Another lost soul left behind in this world, searching for acceptance. I knew we had to unite. However, she left the tournament after winning, and I was unable to locate her destination. All I got was her name - Astrid."

Suddenly, the Gallade started breathing heavily.  
"I-I think it's O-OK to breathe now!" the Gallade stuttered between breaths, "T-Thought I was g-gonna die!" Hearing this, Pikablu exhaled calmly.  
"Oh yeah, A-Astrid's a c-common name for Rock-Types!" the Gallade continued, "A-Actually, that Onix I dated once…"  
"Riveting tale, chap" Pikablu said in a clear voice, interrupting him, "So you have a specific ancient Pokémon in mind? What makes you think she will be looking for someone like you?"  
"She most likely will not…" Kabutops sighed and started climbing a bit faster, "… Her kind were predators, and my kind were its prey."  
"Huh… Really?" Pikablu said with a confused look on his face, "Then… What if you find her, and she decides to eat you?"  
"She most likely will, or at the very least we will fight. Possibly to the death…" Kabutops sighed very deeply as he climbed even faster, "… Even so, she is all I have left from my world in this world."  
"That's…" Pikablu started, before stopping himself as he thought about his own mission, "Yeah, I see where you're coming from. Don't worry, stick with me and I'll help you find those ancient Pokemon!"  
"That is what I am counting on…" Kabutops said quietly.

"Uh… Guys?" the Gallade finally said, having calmed down his breathing, "Just so you know, I sense something powerful on top of the tower."  
"Really!" Pikablu exclaimed happily, "You think it might actually be-"  
"It's not a regular Pokemon, that's for sure" the Gallade said, looking up at the tower. They were only a few floors away from the top.  
"Hehe!" Pikablu giggled, "OK, quiet down, you guys! I want to make a good first impression!" They all nodded as Kabutops kept climbing towards the top.

As they got closer, they heard the sound of someone talking from the top. Then suddenly, two Dratini appeared right above them, flying away into the distance. Pikablu remained unaffected, but as Kabutops flinched a bit he became worried that they would be tumbling down where they came from. Looking down, he saw that they were hundreds of meters up in the sky, but what interested him more was the fact that he could see the brightly shining Goldenrod from there. The sun was setting and the evening was creeping up, so he knew that soon Goldenrod's lights would be illuminating the darkness. A fitting crowning for his soon legendary status.

He was forced to stop enjoying the view as he suddenly heard a thud above him, and both he and the Gallade were thrown up on the very top of the tower. Pikablu landed gracefully on his feet, while the Gallade tripped. They were on a simple platform with no walls, railings or ceiling, and at the other side of the tower was a very large Pokémon. It stood on two legs yet had small wings, and its body was covered by thick orange scales.

"I-Is that Ho-Oh…!" the Gallade gasped in surprise as he scrambled to get to his feet while the giant Pokémon stared at him.  
"Idiot, that's a Dragonite…" Kabutops said as he stretched his arms and legs, "… Even I know that."  
"Ahh… Not quite as legendary as I had hoped…" Pikablu muttered disappointedly before he raised his voice, "Hey, you! Where's Ho-Oh?"  
"She has left this place." the Dragonite suddenly responded with a booming yet somehow serene voice.  
"Yes, I can see that…" Pikablu said with annoyance, "Where to?"  
"That is a secret that must be kept" the Dragonite said, not blinking or moving an inch.  
"Ah, so you _do_ know where it went!" Pikablu shouted happily as he pointed at the Dragonite, "Tell me where!"  
"I see no reason why I should" the Dragonite boomed, "I suggest you turn back from whence you came and forget about this place."

"Hey, what does your internal scouter say about its power level?" Pikablu asked while looking back at the Gallade.  
"Somewhere around Level 60, I'd say…" the Gallade replied slowly, "… But look at it! It's huge! How are we supposed to fight it!"  
"I am female, and prefer to be called as such" the Dragonite said calmly but with an intimidating glare, "And I do not take kindly to threats."  
"What a coincidence! I'm the same way, and that sounded a lot like a threat to me!" Pikablu said loudly before starting to mumble, "You know, the taking kindly to threats part, not the female part…"  
"I do not know what your business with Ho-Oh is…" the Dragonite said slowly, "But attacking me would be a severe mistake."  
"My mission with Ho-Oh is the same as my mission with you…" Pikablu responded, "To beat you up! At least unless you tell me where Ho-Oh is!"  
"A mistake, indeed!" the Dragonite replied quickly, "Shall you two take knowledge of this fool?"  
"Gallade! Barrier! Now!" Pikablu shouted quickly.  
"You've got it!" the Gallade responded, before moving his arms around in a circle. As they moved, a pink glow emanated from his body, which culminated in a bright light. Several transparent pink walls suddenly shot out from him, and extended swiftly until they had enclosed the top floor of the tower.

"There's no escape now!" Pikablu laughed as he prepared himself with a battle pose, "Either tell me what you know, or you're in a lot of trouble!"  
"Do not worry, little ones" the Dragonite said with a lowered voice, "Even if that barrier is in place, I will not kill you and allow you to flee."  
"Hmpf… Level 60, and a Dragonite to boot?" Pikablu said in a disappointed way, "I'd imagine you haven't gotten your ass handed to you in a while. No wonder you're so cocky!"  
"Never from tiny electric Pokémon like you." the Dragonite said with a hint of disdain in her voice.  
"Aw come on, you're putting down Electric-Types?" "Electricity is the best element! It's fast, strong and full of energy! Just as easily as I can give you a relaxing massage, I can amp it up to lethal levels.  
"In my younger days, I was able to generate electricity as well" the Dragonite said, thinking back to her days as a Dragonair, "But it was nearly useless, so I discarded that ability."  
"Well, of course, you're a Dragon-Type, YOUR electricity is going to suck!" Pikablu laughed while shaking his head, "See, I don't generate anything, my electricity is stored right here in my cheeks… And as such, there's never any electricity actually flowing through my body."  
"If you truly wish to talk instead of fight, I would be-" the Dragonite started, but stopped as Pikablu held up a paw to silence her.

"25%..." Pikablu said in a mysterious way while running the other paw through the hair on his head, "… If I were to fill my body up to 25% with electricity, what do you think would happen?"  
"Not much, I would imagine…" the Dragonite replied, "It would hit you just like any other Pokémon."  
"Oh, yes, quite so…" Pikablu said with a smile before leaning forward and firmly planting his paws on the floor, "Unless you were able to control every surge manually, that is. Then you'd get this."

Lightning stemmed from the ground with a loud crash, and surrounded Pikablu in an aura of flashes and whirling electricity. The next instant, Pikablu was right in front of the Dragonite. She prepared a lounge forward, but then she felt something ram into the back of her head. Her thick skin was highly resistant to physical attacks, but before she could react Pikablu was stuck to her head and started sending wave after wave of electricity directly into her brain. Her thick skin that was normally resistant against electricity did little to weaken this attack. She winced in pain as she reached out to pull off her assailant, but now Pikablu was right in front of her again, with his paws to the ground and electricity shooting out of him.

"That's one attack…" Pikablu said confidently in a voice that sounded of discord, as the Dragonite wobbled. The shock to her brain had messed up her senses and bodily functions, and she was trying to get used to the change. However, suddenly Pikablu turned into a blur, and the Dragonite barely had time to feel something attached to her face before her vision was completely filled with yellow. Another surge of numbing pain ran through her as she tried shooting a Hyper Beam out of her mouth, but the instant she started charging it Pikablu was once again a few feet in front of her.

"OK, that was two attacks" Pikablu laughed shakily, "But how could I pass on an opening like that?" As Pikablu once again put his hands down on the wooden floor, a pulse of voltage filled the room and pressed against everyone, making them feel uneasy.  
"W-What are you…!" the Dragonite asked. At her advanced level, nothing short of a legendary Pokémon or veteran trainer should be able to pose a threat, yet barely half a minute into this fight and she was already having trouble standing upright.  
"Just a normal Pokémon!" Pikablu said triumphantly, a particularly strong line of electricity leaking out of him, "Don't act so surprised, I'm just the same as you, and all those 'legendaries'!"  
"Hah! You are nothing like a legendary!" the Dragonite shouted as she hurled herself at Pikablu with surprising speed. Focusing her eyes sharply on him, she was ready to react at his slightest twitch.

He jumped. Predicting his movement, the Dragonite threw a fiery punch diagonally upward in front of her. She felt it connect with something, but noticed that Pikablu had grabbed on to her arm instead of getting hit by it. Not wasting a moment, she fired a dragon pulse at her arm through her mouth, but now felt a creeping sensation on top of her head instead. In a last ditch effort, she quickly spun around and created a small twister surrounding herself, ripping up pieces of the floor and throwing them off the side of the tower.

"Finally taking me seriously, are you?" Pikablu said with a smile from behind her as the twister disappeared, "Or are you still playing around? Seriously, I can't tell…"  
"Have it your way. Allow me to render your precious speed useless!" the Dragonite yelled before extending her wings and flying up into the sky, "Learn some manners!" Focusing all her strength for a few seconds, the Dragonite started glowing white and shot her most powerful Hyper Beam straight down at the tower.  
"Take cover!" the Gallade yelled as he was pushed off the side of the building by Kabutops who then followed. Pikablu was completely immobile, still holding on to the ground. The Hyper Beam struck, causing a massive explosion that engulfed the entire upper section of the tower. The top floor was reduced to rubble and a loud noise resounded through Ecruteak City, making onlookers gasp as large pieces of debris scattered from the top of the tower.

"Foolish Pikachu…" the Dragonite said to herself as she looked down at the destruction she had caused, "Someone like you could never defeat me, or meet the legendary…"  
"How 'bout I do both right now?" a Pikablu said, hanging on to the Dragonite's back. Then, he swiftly shifted up to her head and grabbed a tight hold before using his most powerful electric attack. The Dragonite's body rocked violently in pain as he heard her scream, but as Pikablu saw one of her large hands approach he threw caution to the wind and tried increasing the power just a little more, pushing it to the limit.

That did it. The wings of the Dragonite went numb as she remained still in mid-air for half a second, before falling down into the remains of the tower below her. Her sheer size and weight destroyed yet another floor in the massive impact.

"I'm the foolish one!" Pikablu laughed as he jumped off the head of the Dragonite, "If you hadn't blown up the tower, that fall would've been much less painful!"  
"Ugh…" the Dragonite whimpered, staring with hate at Pikablu while not being able to move a muscle.  
"Out of the four stages my legendary-killing technique, 25% is the weakest one…" Pikablu snickered as the lightning aura surrounding him slowly dissipated, "Yet I suppose it's still enough for a quasi-legendary such as yourself. Had I used 50%, it would've been over in one attack."  
"H-How…?" the Dragonite stammered in disbelief, "W-What are you…?"  
"You asked me that before" Pikablu said with a disappointed tone, "Like I said, I'm just a normal Pokémon. If you're asking for a name… Oh wait, you did that too, didn't you?" The Dragonite could not believe she had just been defeated and was being chastised by a yellow rat, the shame burning her worse than the earlier jolts to her brain.  
"Why…?" she asked, her weakened state showing, "What have the legendaries done to you…?"  
"Oh, nothing…" Pikablu lied, "… For me, or anyone else. They have the power to make this world a better place, but they don't do anything but lie around and occasionally show themselves to the rare human for entertainment. Still, we treat them like gods of our world. Either they'd better start acting like them, or I shall give the people the legendary Pokémon they deserve."

The Dragonite was still dazed from the battle, and had trouble following his reasoning.  
"Now, how about you give _me_ some answers for exchange?" Pikablu said with a big smile as he moved close to her.  
"N-Never!" the Dragonite weakly shouted. The location of the legendaries was her most guarded secret. And if Pikablu truly was as strong as he claimed and were to fight them, she knew even they wouldn't survive.  
"No, see, you have me confused with someone else" Pikablu said happily as his smile turned sinister, "My goal in life is to find the legendaries. I _will_ start paralyzing parts of your body permanently, and then maybe start eating you or something until you tell me what I want to hear."  
"Screw you!" the Dragonite said defiantly.  
"Haaah…" Pikablu sighed, "Acting all high and mighty until someone like me comes and knocks you off your pedestal, and then you stumble around all confused, not wanting to accept the truth…" The Dragonite yelped as a flash of lightning filled struck her left arm, making it fill up with searing pain. Then, nothing.

"That's one arm…" Pikablu muttered quietly, "Shouldn't prevent you from talking, although hugs are going to be out of the question from now on…"  
"M-My arm…!" the Dragonite stuttered. She couldn't feel it anymore. A noise was heard behind her and the Gallade jumped up from the side of the building, followed by Kabutops.  
"Nice restrictive barrier, dipshit!" Pikablu shouted with indignation at the Gallade, who looked at the giant Dragonite before him.  
"Sorry!" he said, "Who'd have thought something so big could fly with those wimpy wings?"  
"Never seen a Dragonite before…?" Kabutops asked with exhaustion resonating in his voice.  
"How about you make one now before I have to commit genocide?" Pikablu said angrily as he saw a trainer riding a Pidegot getting closer to the tower.  
"On it!" the Gallade said, spinning his arms in a strange fashion as the building was completely surrounded by a teal light. The approaching Pidegot quickly halted itself, almost causing the trainer to fall off.

"So…" Kabutops said, looking at the hulking beast in front of him, "… Is she talking?"  
"… Are you?" Pikablu asked, walking up to the Dragonite's head and staring into her eyes.  
"I…" she whimpered as she thought about her paralyzed left arm. A tear ran down her face as gathered up all her courage.  
"Y-You will not intimidate me!" she wailed, "Cripple me, kill me, you will get nothing!"  
"Well… Even if that's true…" Pikablu said sadly as he sent a shock at the Dragonite's left leg, "I don't really _mind_ crippling you for life, so I'm going to keep going just to make sure."  
"N… No…" the Dragonite said in protest as her left leg left her. She felt like crying, but remembered the importance of the promise she had made and braced herself for what was about to come.

In only a few minutes, the once mighty warrior was lying in a heap of herself, completely immobile from the neck down. She had become a paraplegic. A force of various Pokémon and trainers had gathered to try and reach the upper parts of the tower, but had all been repelled by the Gallade's barrier. The Gallade suddenly gave Pikablu a stern look, signaling that he wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer.

"… Pikablu, I don't think she is going to talk." Kabutops sighed sadly.  
"Damn it!" Pikablu bellowed as he grabbed a hold of the Dragonite's face, "Now, you listen here! Either you talk, or I'll have to abandon my search for the legendaries, and instead adapt it to finding out where you sent your children!" The Dragonite's already weak heart stopped completely in fear.  
"M-My… Children…?" she wheezed quietly.  
"Oh yes, I'm going there! You think I didn't see them fly off when we scaled this thing!" Pikablu shouted menacingly, "Talk now, and Snakeboy and little miss Slither will get to experience life without ever having to worry about defending their innards from me and a pair of scisso-"  
"N-No! S-Stop!" the Dragonite screamed as she broke down crying, "I'll tell you! Just… Don't…"  
"TALK NOW!" Pikablu interrupted with fury. He knew the barrier wouldn't hold any longer.  
"T-Twenty days from now… P-Peak of h-hilltop mountain… S-She'll be there…" the Dragonite stammered frightfully, feeling the sensation of her tears flow past her cheeks and then disappearing.  
"More info!" Pikablu shouted, preparing a double slap.  
"I-I don't know!" the Dragonite weakly said, "I-I was just t-told to be there…"  
"10 seconds!" the Gallade shouted, his face contorted in panic.  
"Are you sure this is true!" Pikablu screamed, "Because if it isn't I won't be looking up you for answers, but your children…!"  
"I s-swear!" the Dragonite cried, simply wishing for it all to end. She was too frightened to even think about the future. She knew her life was already over, but the children she loved more than anything had to be kept safe at all costs, even if it meant betraying her friends and giving away her most treasured secret.

"OK!" Pikablu said with a beaming smile as he instantly became completely relaxed, "Thank you for your cooperation!"  
"Phew, finally…" the Gallade sighed, lowering the barrier. Hardly a moment had passed before the screams of all the trainers and Pokémon below them filled the sky. Kabutops and Pikablu calmly walked up to the Gallade.  
"Oh hey, by the way!" Pikablu said happily as he turned around to face the Dragonite one last time, "Your paralyzation is only temporary and I wouldn't have killed your children just for being born by a moron like you. Thanks for the information, though!"  
The Dragonite lay there in confusion, realizing that the numbness in her left arm was slowly starting to go away. Mentally she cursed herself for having given in, but took relief in that at the very least she had sent them to face the one legendary that they would never be able to defeat. Then, she passed out.

"So, where do you want to teleport?" the Gallade said as he held out his arms, "That river, or…"  
"Anywhere that's not here suits me fine!" Pikachu shouted as a swarm of flying Pokémon were closing in on them, a particularly fast and menacing one right in the front. He didn't see what kind of Pokémon it was, but it had a grey tough skin with wingspan quite a bit larger than its body…

"ASTRID!" Kabutops shouted with fear in his voice as he threw himself away from the Gallade.  
"Idiot, don't-" the Gallade yelled as both he and Pikablu vanished. Kabutops stumbled forward, facing the approaching Pokémon.  
"ASTRID!" he repeated, "I FOUND YOU! I-"

He was interrupted as an Energy Ball hit him square in the chest, sending him flying back from the impact. The grass element of the attack began soaking up his inner fluids, and he immediately started to get woozy. A swarm of seemingly endless Pokémon were approaching his weakened form as he tried to move and looked up. The last thing he saw was the one thing he had been looking for all this time, ramming him in the head with a heavy impact. Then, everything faded away...

* * *

Deep within the Cerulean Cave, a clash between two insanely powerful psychic forces was taking place. Distant psychic type could feel that something was wrong, and the few nearby Pokémon were being rendered unconscious. In the very heart of the cave, several leagues under both ground and water, these two beings finally meet in physical form.

"Mewtwo…" Celebi said with an accusing voice, "How could you let it happen?"

Mewtwo remained silent, sitting in the darkness with his eyes closed.

"My sister… My only sister…" Celebi whispered sadly, "Dead. Killed, not far from this cave."

**_Begone_**, a voice echoed in her head.

"I happened right under your nose…!" Celebi suddenly screamed in anguish, "And you did nothing!"

"Matters of the outside do not interest me…" Mewtwo said as he finally opened his eyes and fixed a frightening stare into her, "Nor do they concern me."

"What do you mean, they don't concern you!" Celebi shouted angrily, "You are one of us, now!"

"I am perplexed as to what Mew has divulged about me…" Mewtwo said deeply as he let his psychic energy swirl around him, "But know that I am quite willing to end your life right now should it provide me with solitude once more."

"Fine! Be that way!" Celebi said in a huff. She knew that while less than ten beings in the world could actually pose a threat to her, angering one of the few that could was not a good idea.

She stared at him for a while, before turning around and flying back towards the surface.

"Forgive me, my poor little sister…" Celebi whispered to herself as she left with a tear running down her cheek.

"… Zerobi…"


	4. The Legendary Pikablu

_Many seek glory  
Very few succeed_

_

* * *

_

A few miles north of Cerulean City, located in the middle of a steep, treacherous range that only flying creatures or the extremely stupid would ever attempt to scale, the tall Hilltop Mountain stands. It was in fact a volcano, named differently as it has been dormant for centuries and considered to be completely safe. The process of sealing it up had created a natural indent in the peak, a valley of sorts, reaching into the mountain and forming the top like an arena with surrounding walls. The narrow edges and steep drop on every side rendered it impossible for anyone to be anywhere on the peak apart from this immediate area-

"-making it a perfect spot for legendaries to meet…" Pikablu said while throwing his hands up into the air, "… Or in this case, get what's been coming to them!"  
"G-Geez, t-take it easy, will ya…" the Gallade said, collapsing on the ground in exhaustion, "… Bloody m-mountain's taller 'n it looks, 'n it looked pretty damn tall to me…"  
"We're a day early, even…" Pikablu said while looking at the clock he had stolen from the trainer in Ilex Forest, "Good. Wouldn't want to miss this on account of Ho-Oh not being punctual."  
"Gah, only one day of rest!" the Gallade gasped, "We practically ran halfway across the globe for this, and now we've got to fight a legendary tomorrow!"  
"Actually, we might not even get that if they're early" Pikablu snickered while stretching his neck, "Again, you don't have to do any of this. Go home and be a family man!"  
"Come on…" the Gallade said while rising to his feet, "You know you can't do this without me!"  
"What do you mean? Of course I could!" Pikablu responded surprised as the Gallade flinched in pain and once again sat down, "… I will admit that you'll make it easier though, so you're welcome to stay for as long as you want. And, of course, once I become legendary you will have a place by my side."

"… You know what?" the Gallade said as he leaned back and looked up at the sky, "That honestly doesn't seem as important as it once did."  
"… Huh?" Pikablu exclaimed, stretching his legs and arms at the same time.  
"… Or finding a girl, getting famous, or any of that…" the Gallade continued with a smile, "Traveling the world like this while searching for the unknown has been so exciting! Even if I were to find a girl worthy of my beauty, how could I possibly settle down when there's so much more to see…?"  
"I mean, _if_ Ho-Oh actually shows up, that is!" the Gallade quickly finished as he stood up again.  
"It looks promising so far" Pikablu said in high spirits, "Could you scan the area, see if you pick anything up?"  
"I did while we were talking, and even though I hate to admit it…" the Gallade said mysteriously, "… There's definitely something strange here."  
"Strange?" Pikablu asked with a confused look, "Strange, how?"  
"Can't really explain it, I've never felt anything like it before" the Gallade said with a shudder, "… Gives me the creeps."

"So… You have finally come!" a muffled voice sounded. Both of them gasped as they heard something burrow its way up from underground, before an odd figure popped out of the ground. It was covered by a thick, brown shell, and had long scythes for hands.

"Kabutops!" Pikablu exclaimed cheerfully, "We thought you were licked!"  
"Indeed…" Kabutops said in a more confident voice than usual, wiping some of the dust from his scythes, "Thank you for rushing to my rescue."  
"Hey, we thought about it…" the Gallade said while shaking his head, "… But rushing out into a swarm of fiends like that was just TOO damn stupid for us to accept."  
"Worse than trying to summon Darkrai by reading horror stories before bedtime?" Kabutops laughed, crossing his arms with the scythes sticking out behind him.  
"Seems like it got a laugh out of you!" Pikablu laughed back, "I should get some kind of achievement award for that!"

Pikablu held his fist in front of him in a gesture, and Kabutops held out his sharp scythes. Then he lifted his right foot and held his leg out, which Pikablu headbutted.  
"It's good to have you back, man" Pikablu said in a friendly manner.  
"You know it" Kabutops smiled, "Thought you two would get here earlier than this, though."  
"So, what happened?" the Gallade asked, "On our end, it was like… '-let go!', or something."  
"Oh, I fought bravely for what seemed like hours, waiting for support that never arrived …" Kabutops lied, "But really, I was doing fine! I defeated enemy after enemy before a hostage situation developed and I was forced to stand down…"  
"As expected!" Pikablu said, somewhat regretting not being there, "I knew you were a fighter!"  
"… Anyway, long story short…" Kabutops said, running out of fake stories to tell, "I explained the situation to them, and after they let me go I met with Astrid."  
"Wait…" Pikablu said with a worried tone, "You… Explained the situation?"  
"Yeah" Kabutops said in a reassuring way, "You know, some madman busted into the tower, beat up a Dragonite, I was helpless to stop him…"  
"Ahaha! That's great!" Pikablu laughed heartily at this, "How was the Dragonite doing, by the way?"  
"… I'm not sure" Kabutops replied, thinking back, "She was still at the Pokecenter when we left. I think you humbled her a bit, though."  
"If that's not a heroic deed, I don't know what is!" the Gallade nodded.  
"Anyway, so Astrid and I got talking about the past and stuff, and we not-so-surprisingly found out we had a lot in common…" Kabutops continued, "… And we're together now."  
"Huh, no kidding?" Pikablu said before he once again got the same worried tone, "Wait, is she coming here today…?"  
"No, she decided to sit this one out... But she helped! I rode her all the way here!" Kabutops said quickly before lowering both his head and voice, "And all the way there, as well, if you… Know what I mean…"

A moment of silence passed as Kabutops gained a blush so bright it was almost showing through his shell.

"Ahahaha! Way to go, man!" Pikablu laughed and patted him on the back, "And I'm empathizing the 'man' part!"  
"Looks like you beat me to it!" the Gallade chuckled, "What will happen to the three travelling bachelors now?"  
"Hey, did you forget that I've got a girl back home?" Pikablu sneered, "Seems that even though it was your goal all along, you were the only one who didn't find anyone!"  
"No, that's just…" the Gallade snickered, before realizing that it was true, "Wait, what? How did this happen! That's so unfair!"  
"So you decided to see this thing through to the end?" Pikablu asked, ignoring the Gallade who had collapsed in defeat and started talking to himself.  
"More or less, yeah" Kabutops replied, "Well, wanted to update you guys, and maybe even see a legendary…"  
"Hmm…" Pikablu sighed while looking around, "Seems like that'll be a problem with the form of this place."  
"No, wait! That's why!" the Gallade suddenly burst out, "I was looking for the most beautiful woman in the world, you guys just settled with whatever you had!"  
"You watch it there, pretty boy…" Pikablu said menacingly while cracking his neck, "… Or you won't be pretty much longer!"  
"Yes! That's how it is!" the Gallade kept going, "Tomorrow… I mean, the day after tomorrow… I'll search all of Cerulean City for someone worthy of my beauty!"

"… If there is a day after tomorrow" Kabutops said with a voice more reminiscent of his previous self, "We are fighting a legendary, after all…"  
"Correction" Pikablu said sternly, "I'm fighting a legendary. You two remain hidden. I might have you help carry an unconscious legendary once I'm done."  
"If it's a fire-type, I can fight too" Kabutops said, waving his scythes around.  
"I know you're immune to fire, but Ho-Oh will most likely have some tricks up her sleeve" Pikablu said followed by a short laugh, "Nothing that will save her from a million volts to the brain, I'm guessing."  
"And if she does?" Kabutops quickly replied.  
"… Then I'll do it again!" Pikablu said triumphantly, "Don't worry, no one has more tricks up their sleeve than I do!"  
"You don't have any sleeves, why do you keep using that expression!" the Gallade shouted.  
"But… You told me you couldn't use 25% in midair" Kabutops continued, forming a concerned look somewhere behind his protective mask.  
"… Yeah, I can't" Pikablu sighed, "25% damages my insides, so I have to link myself to the ground so that I can constantly let out excess electricity. Nothing says I ever have to leave the ground when fighting Ho-Oh, though."

"So…" the Gallade said while looking around the barren indent, "… Where do we hide, exactly?"  
"You're the one making the force field" Pikablu said with a sigh, "You tell me."  
"Well…" the Gallade started, "I saw a small cave not far down from here, I can stay there and keep this area guarded…"  
"… But?" Pikablu asked.  
"We won't be able to see you, and if the legendaries are as strong as we fear I won't be able to hold them back if they keep pounding on the force field" the Gallade said.  
"Eh, even for a legendary it should take ten seconds to punch through it, which is ten seconds more than I'll give them!" Pikablu said confidently, "Just be ready to activate it the moment you sense someone else enter this place!"  
"Got it!" the Gallade said happily.

After hanging out for a while, Kabutops and the Gallade started climbing down the mountain as Pikablu sat and waited for the legendary. The hours passed slowly, as Pikablu was far too excited to sit still. He started by stretching and flexing, thinking the legendary could appear at any moment. After a while he got tired, and leaned against a wall to become somewhat hidden before falling asleep. While sleeping, he had a strange dream about fighting a Ho-Oh that sprouted several different heads, all shooting beams of varying elements.

A twinge in his heart woke him up. For some reason, he felt happy. Serenity washed over him as he remembered where he was, and noticed that night had fallen. He also noticed that he was no longer alone. In the middle of the giant crater, a strange being was floating.

Beautiful beyond all description, she was the embodiment of harmony. Purity and life positively radiating from her, even plants would be able to notice her magnificent presence and perk up to seek her touch. Although her body was small like a sapling, her form was like a flower in bloom with large blue eyes sparkling like dewdrops in the morning. Moving gracefully through the air, she was the closest thing to an incarnation of mother nature.

"C… Celebi…?" Pikablu said out loud as he was completely paralyzed and his vision slowly focused on the being in front of him, "Celebi… Celebi… **CELEBI…**" Celebi looked in his direction and gasped, quickly turning around to fly away. She only made it a few feet before being thrown back by an unseen force.  
"Heh… Not even in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would encounter you this early…!" Pikablu said, before yelling with hate oozing out of his every pore, "KEEP HER HERE, NO MATTER WHAT!"

"W-Who are you?" Celebi asked, speaking with a soft, serene yet somewhat startled voice.  
"Pikablu…" Pikablu said while collecting himself, "… Brother of Pichu. You are Celebi, correct?"  
"… What do you want with me?" Celebi asked innocently.  
"What I want…?" Pikablu laughed to himself, "Originally I was planning on becoming a legendary Pokémon, but now that you're here I think your death will be quite sufficient!"

Without hesitating, Pikablu threw his hands to the ground and exploded into an aura of lightning before moving towards Celebi at an immense speed. Celebi was taken off guard by his fastness and barely had time to react, but managed to cover herself in a barrier before he reached her. Pikablu was thrown back, sending a thunderjolt her way in mid-air which the barrier absorbed. The moment he landed on the ground he disappeared, appearing behind Celebi and using a strong thunderbolt attack. Celebi noticed this and soared up into the sky, but didn't receive even a light shock as the barrier repelled the attack. The pain running through Pikablu's body told him that this encounter was no dream.

"Wait! Stop!" Celebi cried as she settled high up in the sky, "Why! What have I ever done to you!"  
"You killed my brother, bitch!" Pikablu screamed in anger, before exhaling and letting the lightning aura around him vanish.  
"I haven't killed anyone!" Celebi replied, before quickly moving to the side as a stream of electricity missed her and flew up into the clouds above them.  
"Of course you wouldn't remember some random squirt you killed on one of your big, important journeys!" Pikablu shouted while charging up another attack, "That would be _beneath_ you, right!"  
"Please, calm down!" Celebi yelled desperately, "We can talk about this!"  
"Oh, I'll talk plenty when I'm sure you won't escape!" Pikablu shouted back, "Most likely after I've paralyzed every part of your body!"

Closing his eyes, Pikablu sent strongest electrical attack straight up into the sky. He knew he didn't need to aim. Twenty branches of lightning rose from his body in an upside-down lightning strike, although from above it looked more like a vortex that was growing at a rapid pace. Celebi strengthened her barrier and flew even higher, before being pushed back by the restrictive force field the Gallade had raised.

Seeing the lightning below rising, she used her psychic powers to smash the ground below her. Looking around in surprise, Pikablu noticed how several rocks were being lifted up around him with an unseen force. Sensing danger, he cancelled his attack and jumped as the rocks all converged on his position and crushed themselves against each other. When he landed on the ground, he felt something like an invisible hand grabbing on to him before flinging him away into the distance. He too struck the restrictive force field and was sent back, barely managing to land on his feet.

"A counterattack! I'm honored!" Pikablu said while hiding the fact that he was gasping for air, "Good, let's make this battle interesting!"  
"No…" Celebi said calmly as she floated down to the ground, "This battle is already over."  
"What." Pikablu said flatly, "… Did I win?"  
"I can see into your body" Celebi said, staring into the pack of cells and many atoms before her, "You just exhausted your entire supply of electricity with that attack."  
"Yeah, I know…" Pikablu said with a disgusted tone, "… But you can actually see into my body? Weird."  
"I can also see that you are a heavily scarred Pikachu" Celebi said worriedly, "… Fight like this again, and your life will be over."  
"Listen, it's time for you to get one thing straight!" Pikablu shouted while gritting his teeth, "All doubts and questions have been erased from my mind, and this battle will not be over until you are dead!"  
"But… But I honestly haven't killed anyone!" Celebi said hopelessly, "I would never do such a thing!"  
"… Oh yeah?" Pikablu said before taking a step forward, "Look at my face. Try telling me you don't remember anything."

Celebi knew it would be unwise to drop her guard, but for a moment she decided to comply with his request. She looked at him. He looked like a normal Pikachu in every way, except heavily scarred and unusually tough. However, somehow, when she stared into the deepness of his eyes, a memory from long ago sprung to life…

_… I am flying through the woods. I knew I had done it now. Zipping through the trees, I can sense that the creature is still behind me.  
"Wait! Stop!" the creature yells, not slowing down a bit.  
"No! Stay away!" I shout. Why won't he leave me alone! I had been so careful, yet someone had seen me and now I was going to be captured, experimented on, I will never free again!  
A cliff. Perfect! Now the creature cannot chase me anymore! I quickly fly above it, turning around to look at the creature one last time.  
He jumps at me. His eyes… So deep… Before I can react, his soft paw is touching me.  
My mind scrambles. A male had touched me! I can feel the infection spreading, poisoning my womb and beginning the process that would force me into an early grave. Terrified and crying, I fly as quickly as I can to uncle Giratina who comforts me and tells me that I will only die if…_

"… that Pichu was your brother?" Celebi asked silently.  
"Finally remembered, huh?" Pikablu said while stretching his arms, "At least that's something. I'll make sure to remember you in the future, preferably by turning your head into a trophy!"  
"W-Wait!" Celebi yelled sadly, "It was an accident!"  
"I'll bet it was" Pikablu replied while cracking his neck, "If you knew you were going to die right here and now, you probably would have-"  
"No, you don't understand!" Celebi interrupted, "I was just trying to escape when I flew over a cliff, and…"  
"… And let my only brother plunge to his death!" Pikablu interrupted back in rage, "Why didn't you stop him, or save him!"  
"I…" Celebi stammered shamefully, "There… Was something else on my mind…"  
"THAT'S YOUR EXCUSE!" Pikablu roared, "And then you just flew off, leaving him to die!"  
"It was important!" Celebi said trying hopelessly to justify herself, "I had to run, I was fearing for my life, I…"  
"Oh, you'll be fearing for your life, alright!" Pikablu bellowed as he struck a pose, "Brace yourself, bitch!"

A booming noise was heard above them. Celebi looked up and noticed that the sky had turned black with dark clouds.  
"If you can really see into my body…" Pikablu said menacingly, "… You must have seen that I filled it up to 25% with electricity earlier."  
"I… I don't want to…" Celebi mumbled, at a loss for words.  
"Well then, take a good look now!" Pikablu yelled while throwing his hands up to the sky, "I'm about to go for 50%!"

Everything turned white for an instant as lightning fell from the clouds above and struck down into Pikablu. He screamed loudly as a large blue aura surrounded him, strong electrical currents spiraling the area like flying snakes. Little by little the aura shrunk, and Pikablu's screaming receded.

When it was over, the aura was completely gone. Pikablu looked perfectly normal. Celebi decided to take another look inside his body, but realized too late what was going on.

Pikablu inhaled deeply, before shooting out a massive wall of thunder at Celebi. She saw that she had no hope of dodging it, so she reinforced her barrier instead. The thunder hit her harder than she had expected, and the barrier barely held up as the electricity crashed into the mountain behind her, sending debris flying in every direction.

"Tough barrier. Looks like I'll have to focus it a bit more…" Pikablu said, before shooting a giant pillar of light at her. It was fast, and while she herself managed to avoid it half her barrier got caught up in the pillar, causing the barrier to instantly evaporate.

"That's it!" Pikablu yelled cheerfully before unleashing stream after stream of lightning, whipping around the area. Celebi quickly regenerated her barrier, and tried dodging the electricity in vain. She was hit over and over, and desperate for an escape flew up into the sky.  
"You think that's such a good idea…?" Pikablu sneered as he raised his arms. Celebi anticipated the attack and moved to the side, but was surprised as lightning struck her from behind. He had summoned down another lightning bolt! Growing exhausted and feeling her barrier wane, Celebi knew she wouldn't last long at this rate.

"You are forcing me to attack!" Celebi shouted before creating a set of magical leaves.  
"No I'm not, I'm only forcing you to DIE!" Pikablu screamed while sending a ball of lightning her way. The leaves started moving and caught up to the ball in midair, after which they started spinning around it quickly, making it shrink and finally disappear.  
"What the… What the hell just happened!" Pikablu said, feeling speechless as the leaves started moving again and quickly approached him.  
"Oh yeah? Try this one on for size…!" Pikablu growled before shooting another humongous wall of thunder above him, charring the leaves into nothingness. Celebi tried flying to the side but couldn't make it, and the wall struck her barrier once more.

"Ha ha ha! Did you see that!" Pikablu laughed happily, "That's my 50% technique!" Celebi stared at him in disbelief.  
"Even my body wouldn't be able to take 50% electricity swirling around…" Pikablu continued, "So I keep it immobile. Stored, if you will. Summoning lightning is a cinch, so thanks to that I have a never ending surplus of electricity! I can use my strongest attacks over and over, and I'll never run out!"  
"How did you…" Celebi mumbled, still confused.  
"What you think those scars on my inside just made themselves?" Pikablu shouted cheerfully, "For years I put myself through training that most people would compare to torture! All for this! All for this one battle! You should feel so grateful!"

Celebi looked down at him with a surprised face. Then, she lowered her barrier, and flew down until she was right in front him.

"W-What are you…" Pikablu said flustered as he took a step back from the approaching legendary.  
"I surrender. I won't fight anymore…" Celebi said calmly, looking at him with her sincere sapphire eyes.  
"You… You what!" Pikablu shouted surprised with a stare fixed at her. Being this near her without a barrier between them made him feel strange, like all his earlier animosity simply went away and he was finally at peace.  
"… You do realize what this means, right?" Pikablu continued, trying to shake off the pleasant sensation.  
"You want to fight me in some big glorious battle? That's what you've been training for all this time?" Celebi said with a confident smile, "Well, I don't want to fight. And if I deny you the fight, it will all have been for nothing! I guess you have no choice but to extract your meaningless revenge and kill me right now!"

Pikablu responded by instantly using a powerful thundershock. Celebi yelped in surprise as she flew back for protection and quickly raised her barrier.  
"Don't get me wrong…" Pikablu said darkly, "I'm enjoying the battle, but not as much as I will enjoy your death."  
"Y… You…!" Celebi stammered in shock. Had she been a little slower, she would've been…  
"Come back!" Pikablu shouted as Celebi flew away and he used another thundershock, "Didn't you say you were gonna let me kill you!"  
"You'll pay for that, you unreasonable…" Celebi shouted back, before noticing her own rage and calming down. She cupped her hands and created several seeds that she then shot in a wide arc at Pikablu. Pikablu quickly used electricity to destroy all of them, even the ones that were not at risk of hitting him.

"Like I'm going to let your seeds touch the ground!" Pikablu yelled, "It's bleedin' obvious what's going to happen if I do!"  
"Oh yeah?" Celebi said in a mocking tone before swiftly flying down to the ground. Before she could make it, her path was interrupted by a line of lightning that spread and forced her to move back up.  
"OOoooooohhh YEEEAAAAHHHH!" Pikablu screamed like a lunatic, moving his hips back and forth in a dance-like maneuver. Celebi once again stared at him in disbelief, before closing her eyes and muttering something to herself as her barrier disappeared.

She clapped her hands together, causing her skin to turn purple. The new skin became softer and softer, before she suddenly dashed at Pikablu who was preparing a counterattack. However, halfway down she halted herself, causing the purple skin to fly off her and fall on the ground next to Pikablu in a purple puddle. Pikablu recognized the smell of the purple substance right away.

"Toxic!" Pikablu exclaimed in an insulted tone, "What the hell, you think I'm a bloody plant!"  
Celebi clapped her hands together again, and this time a clear, blue liquid covered her body. Flying forward in a twist, she threw this liquid on the poison puddle.  
"You think I'm going to just let you do this!" Pikablu shouted and shot a large torrent of electricity at Celebi. She looked up, and braced herself as her barrier absorbed the attack. Meanwhile, a wayward strike of lightning hit the puddle, causing droplets to fly around as it stirred.

"Wait, that's…" Pikablu whispered as he looked over at the puddle, "… Oh. I see what you were trying to do." Pikablu barely had time to finish his thought before Celebi threw out her arms, creating a lightning strike that hit the puddle. In an instant the puddle exploded, throwing poison-laced water everywhere. Pikablu saw this and jumped high into the air, where he saw Celebi quickly approaching.  
"Crap!" he shouted and unleashed electricity at her, which she easily dodged before flying around him. Pikablu suddenly felt his back be pierced with what felt like a thousand needles, as he noticed his powers starting to drain.

"I am not as adapt with the elements as Mew…" Celebi said, having shoved many sharp tendrils into Pikablu, "… But Grass and Psychic are far from my only means of attacking!"  
"B-Bullshit…" Pikablu weakly stammered while trying to turn around, "T-This is giga drain, isn't it…?"  
"No energy, no fight" Celebi said confidently, "I won't let you hit yourself with lightning again. This time, it's truly over…"  
"W-Wanna bet…?" Pikablu chuckled as he leaned his head back. Looking up, Celebi saw a pillar of electricity above her increasing in size, before showering the two of them. She quickly let go of Pikablu, who fell down to the ground but managed to spin around and land on his feet.

"A recharge, a defensive maneuver AND an attack!" Pikablu laughed while scratching the tiny holes on his back, "Whatever powers you've got, you can't match my battle experience!" Pikablu began noticing that the holes were itching quite a bit, and suddenly he couldn't move his arms anymore.

"Wh-What the…!" he gasped as his vision grew hazy and his body was turning immobile.  
"You see now what I said about this fight being over?" Celebi giggled as his legs failed him and he fell down to the ground.  
"The hell did you…" Pikablu growled, lying face down on the ground.  
"While using giga drain, I injected you with some stun spore" Celebi said happily, "You can't get rid of it if it's already inside your body. You lose!"

"Grah…" Pikablu muttered. He had been too careless. He was far from spent, but not being able to move would be a defeat as well. He struggled to move, trying to remember if he even once succeeded in moving after Anne had covered him in stun spores when they were young. Suddenly, he had a vision of a memory made not too long ago…

_"When will you get over it…?" Anne asks with the concerned voice I've gotten to know so well over the past years.  
"Never" I bluntly respond, "You should know that I will never get over it. The day he died, my life ended."  
"… But what about now?" Anne asks, caressing me with her soft body, "You love eating. You love sleeping. You love… Being with me… With suicide, all of that will go away…"  
"… It seems you don't understand, after all" I say, turning away from her, "It's not that I don't want to live, I simply cannot live. With his death, my every chance of ever being happy again disappeared. There's no light at the end of this tunnel."  
"Pikablu…" Anne whispers sadly.  
"However…" I continue, "Somehow, by doing this… I feel like I have a purpose to keep on living. To fulfill his dreams, surely I cannot die without at least trying! By not fearing death, passages have opened up that are beyond the reach of anyone else! Risking my life I've perfected a technique that will allow me to defeat anyone, what kind of fool would I be if I didn't put it to its proper use!"_

"I…" Pikablu said while using all his strength to force his left paw into his mouth, "I-I can't afford to lose! I was ready to die, but now I have been reborn for this one battle! FEEL MY WRATH!" Biting down on his paw, Pikablu unleashed 25%, but instead of controlling the surges he let them fly wild. He exploded in a storm of electricity, destroying the spores that had infected him as his muscles and wounds screamed in pain. He bit down so hard that he drew blood.  
"Not… Over…" he struggled to keep talking as he rose to his feet, "Until… You're dead!"  
"Impossible…!" Celebi whispered slowly before creating some distance between them.

Pikablu looked over his situation, and was truly starting to get worried. Even at 50% he needed a direct hit to cause any damage, and Celebi didn't even seem to pay notice to the weaker strikes.  
"So, this is the power of a legendary…!" he mumbled to himself before raising his voice, "There's plenty more where that came from!  
He knew that he might have to take it to the next level… But as his muscles cried out in stress, even he was getting concerned about the consequences.

He closed his eyes as tiny sparks started spreading from him. While they were weak, they were fast and were quickly swarming the area. It was as if he was a hive releasing angry hornets. Celebi sensed little danger from the attack, and merely kept her barrier in place. One of the sparks finally reached her, striking the barrier weakly and not causing any damage.

"… Got you!" Pikablu shouted the moment the spark hit her, and suddenly a large torrent of electricity flew in a direct line between them. This attack was faster than usual, so Celebi was caught off guard and took the full brunt of the attack. Her barrier started shaking violently and electricity was seeping through it, giving her small shocks.

"Y-You used electricity as a sensor!" Celebi stammered as she wobbled around, "That's impossible!"  
"Wrong, and right!" Pikablu explained, having regained his earlier fighting spirit, "I'm just using these sparks as conductors, laying out a path to you! Better not underestimate the weaker strikes, eh?" Using electricity this way was rather ineffective, but Pikablu thought that at least it might make Celebi waste energy evading harmless attacks.

"You…" Celebi said slowly as the sparks disappeared, "You still have new means of fighting?"  
"Plenty!" Pikablu responded, "You ain't seen nothing yet!"  
"… Interesting" Celebi said in a mysterious voice as she moved down to the ground. Striking a pose similar to Pikablu's earlier movement, she placed her hands on the ground.  
"What the…" Pikablu exclaimed in surprise "… Are you imitating my technique!"  
"… Maybe" Celebi said, as a spark of electricity flew right above her head.  
"W-Wait, you can generate electricity too!" Pikablu stammered as he was taken aback, but then quickly regained his confidence, "Don't make me laugh! This technique took me 5 years to master, you have no hope of using it!"  
"… That seems to be the case, yes…" Celebi said, still holding on to the ground.  
"Your body is too piddly and weak!" Pikablu shouted, "It would've crumpled from a fraction of the training I put myself through!"  
"Indeed…" Celebi said.  
"… And you'll regret lowering your barrier!" Pikablu yelled as he created another pillar of light aimed at her. However, before he could use it, hundreds of plants and vines suddenly grew out of the ground and grabbed him. His attack was nullified, and he struggled to move around as he was ensnared by more and more growth until he was almost sealed in a cocoon.

"Y-You bitch, when did you…!" Pikablu stammered before realizing what had happened, "… You tricked me! You weren't trying to imitate 25% at all!"  
"I planted a few seeds, and let them spread" Celebi said calmly, lifting her arms from the ground and making a great system of miniscule roots rise from the ground. They covered the entire peak of the mountain, reaching as far as the edges.  
"These plants are unaffected by your electricity, no matter how strong it is" she continued as Pikablu tried a thundershock to get free, "It's over."

"Stinkin' &%¤! Let me go!" Pikablu shouted angrily as his rage overflowed and he tried biting through the vines.  
"D-Don't say that word!" Celebi stuttered frightfully.  
"… What, &%¤?" Pikablu replied, noticing that his teeth weren't cutting through the plants.  
"I said, don't say it!" Celebi yelled in a disgusted tone.  
"Ahaha, you've got to be kidding me…" Pikablu started laughing while trying to pull his arms free, "You legendaries, much too high and fine for someone down and dirty like me, eh? Bloody f-" He was interrupted as the vines around him suddenly constricted, slicing into his skin and pushing all the air out of his lungs.  
"I warned you!" Celebi shouted with fury as she moved closer, "Don't use that kind of language in front of me!"

"Geez, what the hell?" Pikablu asked as he recovered from the attack and was trying to figure out a way to regain his earlier momentum, "Aren't you supposed to be this old, wise thing? You're honestly offended by something like that?"  
"I-I…" Celebi whispered slowly, surprised at her own behavior, "I'm not like you…"  
"You're nothing but a weak prude!" Pikablu said with a short laugh, "I'd say you are the complete opposite!"  
"… Maybe if I tell you…" Celebi said softly while looking away, "… Perhaps you will understand my plight…"  
"Doubtful" Pikablu replied, slumping back and giving up on trying to use brute force to free himself.  
"… I know your kind thinks we legendaries are immortal, but we are not" Celebi explained sadly, "Quite the opposite, actually…"  
"If I thought you were immortal, why the hell would I dedicate my life to killing you!" Pikablu said angrily, "No, my brother showed me that you were beings of flesh and blood, just like us."  
"… He was a clever being, then" Celebi said, making Pikablu twitch, "I am truly sorry for causing him harm…" Pikablu became silent.

"My kind in particular has a special quirk" Celebi started telling her story, "When we give birth, our psychic powers are transferred into our child. The mother is left without any powers, and usually dies right away… That is why the name of Celebi lives on for much longer than the actual being. I flinched at those words earlier because I fear... Procreation... I avoid it as a survival instinct..."  
"Sounds like a boring life…" Pikablu sneered, "… But it sounds even more like a boring story."  
"With my mother, something never heard of before occurred" Celebi continued, ignoring Pikablu's comment, "After giving birth to me, she managed to live on for a full year and gave birth to yet another child, my sister Zerobi."  
"However, as all of mother's powers had already been transferred into me, Zerobi was born a normal Pokemon…" Celebi said while looking up as the black clouds above them growled, "… A Dark-Type even, completely devoid of all psychic abilities."  
"L… I mean, my caretaker… Did not see my sister as a legendary, and left her to be raised among normal Pokemon. I was too young to do anything about it, and Mew became like a sister to me instead" Celebi continued with sadness in her voice, "She still is, but…"

"You're comparing the death of a sister you've never met with my brother!" Pikablu suddenly burst out in anger, "From the time he was born we spent every moment together, when our parents died we watched out for each other, eveyone called us 'inseparable'…!"  
"You don't understand!" Celebi shouted, "Zerobi was my only sister, which is a miracle in itself! I never even got to see her! I only find out she's been killed in battle, something I could have prevented had I been there!"  
"So!" Pikablu shouted back, "What would you do if you found out who was responsible for your sister's death! You'd hunt them down, wouldn't you! We're the same, you and I!"

A moment of silence passed as Pikablu realized what he had just said. They both stared at each other as the wind blew past them.

"… You couldn't have just turned around for a moment that day…?" Pikablu asked, his eyes tearing up, "No, you just HAD to get away, to remain hidden like a damn mysterious force…"  
"I…" Celebi whispered silently, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"  
"The battle resumes" Pikablu said, "Sorry to hear about your sister, but only by killing you will I find peace."  
"You fool!" Celebi suddenly shouted, "Killing me will not bring your brother back!"  
"Heh… It seems you do not understand the bond between two brothers…" Pikablu said as his tears started flowing freely, "Sure, it was an accident. You're sorry. None of this matters, you know? If not for you, my brother would still be alive. If I didn't kill you in return, what kind of brother would I be?"  
"Your brother would not want you to throw away your life like this!" Celebi yelled desperately.  
"You know nothing about my brother!" Pikablu screamed as a picture of Pichu reading a book about Celebi flashed through his mind, "If you did, you wouldn't have fled that day!"  
"… You're being too selfish!" Celebi finally said, "Maybe you're OK with it, but your death will sadden other people, and my death as well!"

"Heh…" Pikablu cracked up before darkly laughing out loud, "HAHAHAHAHA! Your death wouldn't even be _noticed_ unless I pranced with your corpse around town!"  
"W-What!" Celebi stammered.  
"To most creatures of this world, you're nothing but a legend! You don't even exist!" Pikablu kept laughing, "Between us, I think the world would miss me more, and I'm a bit of an asshole!"  
"B-But… That's…" Celebi stuttered, taken aback in shock, "I helped a human once!"  
"With your abilities, you could have helped out _humanity_" Pikablu said sternly as he stopped laughing, "Heck, even I feel uneasy killing you, just because of that strange happiness aura you've got…"  
"No!" Celebi shouted while shaking her head, "You're wrong!"  
"You know it to be true, Celebi!" Pikablu shouted back while pointing at her, "Be as pure and good as you like, no one could ever care about someone as secluded as you!"

Fastening his feet to the ground, Pikablu started shaking. With the vines isolating the electricity, no one except for Pikablu himself and Celebi with her ability to see through bodies would know that he had just filled his body up to 25% with electricity.  
"It's no use!" Celebi yelled, "You can't get free like that!"  
"Hey…" Pikablu said in a disjoined way as the clouds above were starting to rumble, "If you have 25%... And add 50%... What do you get…?"  
"37.5%!" Celebi quickly responded.  
"… Really?" Pikablu asked in a confused tone, "Damn… Anyway, prepare yourself… For 75%!"

Celebi had been stunned by the earlier revelation and didn't have time to react as lightning struck into Pikablu's already electricity-filled body. Sensing his power grow, she threw herself back and created her most powerful barrier. Pikablu screamed in pain as his voice became progressively magnified, and starting to crack up like an old radio. The vines surrounding him quickly withered away, and a blinding flash filled the area as the transformation completed.

Soaring up into the air in a ball of pure light, Pikablu was surrounded by a constant thunderstorm. Celebi could sense that it was far more powerful than anything she had ever felt before, possibly rivaling even Mewtwo. The catalyst of lightning descended upon her with incredible speed, and fearing for her life Celebi quickly burrowing herself underground in order to gain shelter.

The ball of lightning smashed through the ground like water, causing a big rift to form in the mountain. Celebi looked back in terror as she was caught between rocks and a thunderstorm, and tried burrowing a new passage up again. As she passed by the electrical ball, a stream of lightning broke through the walls of solid ground and hit her, her barrier failing to absorb the attack and causing her severe pain. She almost fell unconscious right there and then, but pulled herself together and managed to make it back to the surface.

The orb of light burst up through the ground, still surrounded by the cloud of lightning. Panicked, Celebi used a psychic attack, throwing a very powerful invisible shockwave at it. The attack went through the glowing orb completely, leaving it unaffected but instead smashing the ground beneath it into giant boulders. The orb approached quickly as Celebi flew up into the sky while sending down magical leaves at it, but they were all reduced to ashes in a matter of seconds. As she flew higher, she noticed that the force field that had kept her trapped until now had disappeared. However, the orb was faster than her, and feeling the voltage approaching she focused all her power on her barrier while turning around and bracing herself.

The violent storm tore through her like lightning striking a leaf. Ripples of electricity ran through her body, palpitating her heart and constricting her lungs, making her muscles run haywire. The pain was unbearable, and she felt her own body turn lifeless as she was blacking out. Falling to the ground, she saw the blue light beaming above her, and she fought with all her might to stay awake. Realizing too late that the ball of electricity wasn't her only danger, she hit the ground hard with a silent yet painful thud.

When she came to a minute later, she couldn't move. She noticed some weird noises coming from behind her.

"-uck, so damn close…" Pikablu muttered.  
"… Ah…" Celebi whimpered to herself, "… It hurts…"  
"I'd love to put you out of your misery…" Pikablu said with exhaustion, "… But I'm out. Can't even move."  
"I-It hurts!" Celebi shouted as an unfamiliar feeling burned in her chest. It had been many years since she had taken any damage.  
"Shut up…!" Pikablu shouted weakly, "Don't be s-such a baby! You disgust me!"

They were lying on the ground, unable to make a move. Destruction from their heated battle was everywhere around them.

"In 75%, the electricity controls me…" Pikablu said quietly, "I'm just a conductor… Thought I'd tell you that before you die."  
"I…" Celebi said, "I cannot move… Can't we call it a draw?"  
"True, I don't think I can muster up another attack to kill you…" Pikablu grunted, "… Nope, sure can't. But… There is a sure-fire way to kill you…"  
"Please…" Celebi said fearfully, "I didn't mean to…"  
"100%..." Pikablu continued, "Converting my entire self into pure electricity… But after that, there will no longer be a 'me'. I won't exist anymore."  
"D-Don't do it!" Celebi shouted with the last of her strength.  
"I've never used it… But it's strong…" Pikablu continued, "… It'll reshape the earth, leaving a mark that perhaps even my brother will be able to see from above us…"  
"There is no heaven, there is no afterlife!" Celebi shouted as tears welled up within her, "You won't be reunited with your brother!"  
"You never know…" Pikablu mumbled as he closed his eyes.  
"B-But you still have your whole life ahead of you!" Celebi kept going, feeling the jaws of death closing in on her.  
"It's too late for me… 25% followed by 50% AND 75%?" Pikablu struggled to chuckle, "… I can hardly breathe anymore. The least I can do is see this thing through to the end… This is the only way!"

Pikablu focused on controlling his insides as he started glowing faintly.  
"N-No!" Celebi stammered in horror, "Don't!"  
"You took my life from me…" Pikablu whispered, "Now I'll take yours."  
"I didn't take anything!" Celebi yelled as she started crying, "Even if your brother is dead, y-your life s-still goes on!"  
"You know nothing of my suffering…" Pikablu muttered as his body was illuminated in a blue light, "Even in death, you shall remain unaware…"  
"W-What about a-all those f-friends you boasted about earlier…!" Celebi cried, struggling to move.

"…" Pikablu lay in silence before heavy shame weighed down his heart.  
"… Anne. You'll have to forgive this fool one last time…" he whispered to himself. His body was shining like a star, and he felt his being disappearing into a haze of blue and yellow. Staring into the sky, the haze swirled around and reminded him of the love of his life. The reassuring look of Anne… The smile of his loved brother… Knowing his tears would work as a conductor he held them back, but was on the verge of bursting. He knew he couldn't hold it in much longer. He would have to let go of his better judgment and simply do it.

"Arceus, or god…" Pikablu shouted with a powerful voice into the sky as his very body turned into an element, "If there truly is a greater force out there, I have but one request…! Please, let my name reach the heavens, so that my brother may hear me one last time…!"

As he exploded into a crash of thunder, a mighty bellow filled the skies:

**"I… AM… THE LEGENDARY… PIKABLU!"**

That night, the volcano of Hilltop Mountain erupted. It did not spray lava, but lightning.  
Lightning so immense that all the clouds covering the northern Kanto skies turned cerulean.  
Lightning so resilient that it reached as far Pewter City before waning off.  
Lightning so powerful that reached down from the volcano, destroying a nearby cottage as well as damaging several wild Pokémon.

To this day, this phenomenon remains unexplained, and despite thousands of eyewitnesses has been written off as a mere legend. It was named from 'pika' which is the sound of lightning, and 'blue' to signify how the fully clouded sky suddenly turned blue.

It became known as  
_'The Legendary Pikablu'_


	5. Epilogue: The Legendary Trio

_- A new beginning... Another end!_

_

* * *

_

_Nothing.  
Not even that.  
Complete nothingness.  
So this is where everyone has gone...  
Wait… I can feel something… Pain?  
Even here, shall I suffer?  
Getting worse…  
Grah!_

Pikablu hastily sat up and grabbed a tight hold of his cheeks as they burned in pain, his vision slowly returning. His first sight was that of strange green growths surrounding him in every direction, and looking down he noticed that had been sleeping on a very large flower.  
"What you were just experiencing should have lasted for an eternity…" a soft voice came from somewhere, "You would never have woken up."  
"Urgh…" Pikablu groaned while staring at the bizarre thing he was sitting on, "I… Am I dead…?"  
"You would have been, if not for me" the voice replied in a calming manner, "But as luck would have it, I happen to be the most proficient healer in the world. You will be fine." Pikablu looked around the room, and as he suspected he saw Celebi floating a few feet away from him.

"… Why?" Pikablu asked, massaging his cheeks to ease the burden the previous battle had put on him, "… Why did you save me?"  
"Hmm… Because I feel responsible for your brother?" Celebi said in a much too comfortable way, "Maybe I just don't want your entire family on my conscience?" She saw Pikablu stare at her angrily, but still decided to go against her better judgement and move a bit closer to him.  
"No… If I'm to be honest…" Celebi said with a smile, "I sympathize."  
"… You…" Pikablu mumbled in confusion, "You sympathize with me wanting to kill you…?"  
"No, no!" Celebi exclaimed as she shook her head, "I mean… You lost your little brother, and I just lost my younger sister… I know how you feel."  
"Yeah right…" Pikablu muttered sarcastically, "Not even close. I gave up my life for revenge, I don't see you doing any of the kind."  
"That's…" Celebi trailed off as she got a shameful look in her eyes, "… Do you know why I was on top of that mountain? Where we fought?"  
"Not really, no…" Pikablu answered, remembering that he had been expecting Ho-Oh to appear.  
"I was meeting with a contact that had found out who was responsible for Zerobi's death" Celebi said with a pained voice, "And then, as soon as she had told me who it was, I would've…"

Pikablu's eyes shot open in shock.  
"… No way!" he said loudly, "Revenge? You! Don't make me laugh! You lack hatred, you couldn't even let ME die!"  
"Well, yes, I realized that about ten seconds into our fight…" Celebi sighed, "But when I first got the news… I truly despised whoever harmed my little sister, despite never even having met them or knowing the circumstances surrounding-"  
"And that's wrong!" Pikablu interrupted while shaking his fist, hurting his arms a bit, "They killed your little sister! If not for them, she would still be alive! They've ruined your life, and you're just going to let them go!"  
"If only things were that simple…" Celebi said, smiling while pushing away the sadness welling up in her, "Until you die, life goes on. If everyone gave up on life before dying, I do not think any of us would even exist!"

"Whatever, I don't really care…" Pikablu said in a huff, still hurting from head to toe, "More importantly… _How_ did you save me? Now that I think about it… How did you save yourself?"  
"Isn't it obvious?" Celebi giggled, "You should know that ground does not conduct electricity… Ever. You managed to smash through it earlier because of the 25% of your normal body that was still intact. But when all of it became nothing but pure electricity…"  
"… Crap, you're right…" Pikablu muttered with lowered spirits, "… What a pathetic oversight."  
"Hmmhmmhmm…" Celebi laughed softly, "Not unlike 37.5%, no? Seems like your last two techniques were a bit rushed."  
"Well, I couldn't really practice them…" Pikablu said while thinking back, "… So wait, you…"  
"I dug myself underground" Celebi said with a nod, "There I waited out the storm, and then started rebuilding your body."  
"… But I was nothing but electricity!" Pikablu yelled weakly, remembering the painful ordeal, " I-I felt myself spreading around Kanto! How did you-"  
"You want me to tell you that you're actually dead and this is all a dream?" Celebi said sharply with a stern look, "No, I erected a force field which managed to keep most of you in there. About half managed to leak through, so then I had to begin reproducing your cells to create new tissue and…"

"Hmpf…" Pikablu pouted while crossing his arms and falling back on the flower, "Now I know I'm dead."  
"… Excuse me?" Celebi asked, cocking her head to her side.  
"You left my brother to die, but you saved my life. You're a legendary, but you're acting like a little girl…" Pikablu said accusingly while sitting up and pointing at her, "You're nothing like the Celebi I had imagined!"  
"You know… It's strange, but…" Celebi said slowly, "I feel the same way. You are not like I had always imagined most normal Pokémon. It seems that the two of us are not that different."  
"… Huh?" Pikablu exclaimed in surprise, "Are you crazy? We're nothing alike!"  
"Um… That is true…" Celebi responded while thinking hard, "… But we're still not as different as I had first thought! I mean, it's not like it would be impossible for us to co-exist, right?"  
"… You do realize I've spent the last 7 years cursing your name and wishing for nothing but your horrifying demise, right?" Pikablu said bluntly, confused by this turn of events.  
"Hopefully we can work on that!" Celebi said in a strangely happy way, "I mean, I always kept myself hidden because I thought that the humans might capture me and experiment on me, but after meeting you…"

"… Well, yeah, they might do that" Pikablu said while rubbing his forehead, "Scratch that, they WILL do that. One glimpse of you will summon trainers from every corner of the world."  
"I know!" Celebi shouted in frustration, "It's so frustrating! Everyone I meet either wants me as a slave, wants to stick pins in my body or wants me dead!"  
Pikablu sat in silence, feeling a slight hint of guilt when realizing that he was no different.  
"I can't believe I'm asking this, but…" he said, struggling hard not to come off like a complete oaf, "… How do you deal with it?"  
"I keep to myself, of course!" Celebi replied quickly as she lifted her body higher into the air, "In my youth, there was always something to do… But now, I've already traveled around the world! I've split the atom! There's nothing left for me like this!"

"You…" Pikablu asked in surprise while looking up at her, "… You're bored?"  
"More like lonely…" Celebi sighed and sunk back to her previous position, "Truth be told, I rarely get to talk to anyone who's not Mew, so just this conversation is the most exciting thing… OK, _second_ most exciting thing that's happened as of late."  
"… Mew, eh?" Pikablu whispered curiously as he remembered the many books he had read before setting off on his journey, "… Tell me, how much is true of what they say?"  
"Uh… I don't really know what they say" Celebi answered while thinking, "Although if they say she's nice, that's the truth!"  
"… Like, is she the mother of all Pokémon?" Pikablu continued.  
"Oh, no no! She's just like me, with the birth-death cycle, so…" Celebi started, but quickly stopped herself, "Actually, maybe I shouldn't be divulging secrets like this… You can ask her once we meet her!"  
"… Meet her?" Pikablu replied in utter shock, "… Mew?"  
"Yeah… I can't convince you I'm just a legend and we go our separate ways now, can I?" Celebi laughed a little, "Then again, if you have a massive grudge against her as well…"

They could both feel the atmosphere darken at these words, as they stared at each other.

"So… Now what?" Celebi asked with a wondering tone, "I brought you back to life. Are you going to kill me?"  
"Grr…" Pikablu growled, "I wasn't able to, was I?"  
"So what, the moment I turn my back and lower my guard-" Celebi shouted as her voice got stronger.  
"No!" Pikablu interrupted, "Screw this! I was hoping you were going to be hardly sentient or at the very least a cold bitch… I can't kill you if you're like this!"  
"… Like what?" Celebi asked in a dangerous tone.  
"… All normal and happy and stuff!" Pikablu said while waving his arms around, again causing him pain, "The reason I did this in the first place is because I thought you legendaries were dangerous renegades, doing whatever pleases you with no one there to challenge you! Someone needed to put you in your place, so you wouldn't just wreck havoc whenever you felt like it…"

After a moment of silence, Celebi suddenly lowered her head and sunk down to the ground, seemingly depressed.  
"I-I mean… I-I guess that's kind of what I am now… But at least I had a good cause!" Pikablu said, wondering why he was starting to feel more and more guilty as the conversation went on.  
"You… You didn't even know if I was sentient…?" Celebi asked with sadness, "Is that truly how the Pokémon of the world see me…?"  
"You wish" Pikablu said, never having been one to hold back, "Most don't even think you exist."  
"Oh…" Celebi whispered to herself, looking down on the ground.

"But you know… My little brother adored you" Pikablu suddenly said.  
"… Really?" Celebi asked quietly.  
"Yeah" Pikablu answered as he thought back to the past, "No matter what people told him, he always believed in you. He'd spend all night reading books about legendary Pokémon, and then all day looking for them."  
Celebi thought back to the Pichu she had such a short encounter with, and felt a pang of sorrowful feelings hit her now that she knew what had happened afterwards.  
"But you…" Pikablu continued while looking at her with piercing eyes, "For some reason, you were his favorite."  
"Me?" Celebi asked, pointing to herself and feeling a bit uneasy for some reason.  
"He told me that his biggest dream was to one day meet y-you…" Pikablu said as his voice started shaking, "… I can't imagine h-how h-happy he must've been when you a-appeared. Even as he d-died, he spoke of you…"

Suddenly, as he was thinking about the past, it hit him. His brother loved Celebi, yet she had been responsible for his death, and Pikablu had given his life to kill her, only to have her save him instead. And now, they were just sitting around and talking, having known nothing but hate and battle before. Or rather, _he_ had known nothing but hate and battle.

The absurdity of the situation made Pikablu burst out laughing. Not with a happy laughter, but one of anguish, despair and grief while the harsh emotions of the past seven years all came flowing over him at once.

"… Why?" Pikablu finally said as small tears formed in the corner of his eyes, "We were the closest of brothers… Yet somehow, you… Someone he'd never even met meant more to him than I did…"  
"I-I…" Celebi stammered, not knowing what to say. Grasping the strange object beneath him, Pikablu fought back the tears for a few moments before finally letting all his feelings out, wailing loudly as he cried his eyes out.

This time, his tears would not be working as conductors.

Even so, they were a hundred times more painful.

* * *

**_Three years later_**

**_

* * *

_**

At the end of a forest, on a large cliff overlooking a cave, a small figure stands. Solid as the rock he was placed on, the strong wind only served to set his yellow hair into motion as he stared intently at the mouth of the cave. No longer haunted by memories of his past, he was finally able to look over the edge without seeing the crumpling body of his deceased brother beneath him. Sighing deeply and instead choosing to look up into the sky with sadness, a rustling noise was heard behind him.

Pikablu turned around to see a tall, elegant creature approaching him from the bushes. He instantly recognized the figure as a Gardevoir, but there was something strange about it…

"BWAHAHAHA!" Pikablu suddenly burst out laughing while clutching his sides, "Why the hell are you wearing a dress!"  
"Shh! Quiet!" the Gardevoir hushed with a surprisingly manly voice as it stumbled forward, "I've got groupies watching my every move, this was the only way I could get away from them…"  
In haste, the creature tore off the dress and hung the white fabric on one of the nearby branches, revealing the Gallade that Pikablu knew so well underneath.

"Your popularity seems to be soaring, like usual!" Pikablu kept laughing.  
"Nothing compared to you, of course…" the Gallade sneered, looking over his body to see that everything was in order, "They've started selling action figures and dolls of you to human children, you know."  
"… Dolls!" Pikablu exclaimed in horror, "Those had better be accurately representing my manliness!"  
"Quite the opposite, I'd say!" the Gallade said with a snicker as the strong wind almost made the dress blow away, "… So, anyway, how's Celebi?"  
"Lugia and Ho-Oh are having some kind of family reunion" Pikablu said, scratching the back of his head, "Zapidos, Latimas… Damn, and they've got even more children, I'm never going to remember their names!"  
"More legendaries for us, I guess…" the Gallade sighed, "So what? She couldn't come just because of that?"  
"Actually, I begged her not to…" Pikablu said slowly before speaking triumphantly, "It's over much too fast when she's involved! Plus, I wanted an excuse to put the band back together!"  
"Speaking of which…" the Gallade started, before trailing off completely.  
"… Huh?"

Before the Gallade could answer, an armor-clad figure suddenly burst out of the ground between them, making Pikablu jump back in surprise and almost falling off the cliff. It had a hard brown shell with what appeared to be extra large shoulder pads clinging to his back.  
"Kabutops, you fuc…" Pikablu started angrily but stopped himself as he looked closer at the shoulder pads, "You… You brought your kids?"  
"Yes" Kabutops replied as the Kabuto on his back were staring at Pikablu with curious eyes, "They have been nagging non-stop about seeing you in action."  
"Well then, let's not disappoint them!" the Gallade shouted happily, throwing his hands up into the air and creating several swirling lights, making the two Kabuto gasp in admiration.  
"… Not you" Kabutops sighed, turning around to face Pikablu so his kids could get a better view of the Gallade.

"… Hey, are you sure it's OK for you to just reintroduce your species like this?" Pikablu said, still taken aback by the children, "It's not going to screw up the ecosystem, is it?"  
"Not any more than a walking cataclysm of lightning would" Kabutops replied, chuckling a little, "How's the wife?"  
"… Anne?" Pikablu responded, trying to sound cool, "I don't know, out somewhere with Astrid or something…"  
"Indeed" Kabutops smiled, "Tonight is 'Girls Night Out', if I'm not mistaken…"  
"Really?" Pikablu said, hiding his agitation, "Didn't even know that…"  
"… So it has no connection with why you suddenly called for this 'Guy's Night Out'?" Kabtuops continued, the Kabuto on his back rocking back and forth in excitement over the Gallade's lightshow.  
"D-Don't be ridiculous!" Pikablu yelled, "We have an important task ahead of us! It's not like I was just bored or something!"  
"So you say…" Kabutops mumbled, "… Maybe we should get started, then?"  
"Of course! I was waiting for you guys!" Pikablu said cheerfully, before leaping off the cliff and landing securely on the ground beneath.  
"Right!" the Gallade said as the spinning lights disappeared, making the Kabuto groan in disappointment.

They approached the edge of the cliff when suddenly Kabutops stopped and looked back on the dress on the branch behind him, and then staring at the Gallade.  
"… I always had a feeling…" Kabutops muttered, and the Gallade looked at him in confusion before they followed Pikablu.

Ignoring the initial set of guards, the three of them ran deeper into the cave while zooming past surprised and startled Pokémon of every type. In only a few seconds they had reached a large room in the back, where several Pokémon had gathered and an Ampharos was sitting on top of some sort of altar.

"Halt! Stop!" an angry voice sounded behind them as the entire room collectively gasped, "You don't have any permission to be here! Please leave!"  
"Yeah… No." Pikablu said smugly while exhaling a bit, "We know that you're preparing ritualistic sacrifices here."  
"W-What!" the Ampharos stammered as she stood up from the altar, "How is that possible!"  
"We got an anonymous tip…" Pikablu explained as he looked around the room, "… Well, not as much 'got' as 'extracted'. See, keeping secrets is all fun and games until someone brings a couple of scythes!"  
"Hey, could you tell us where you're keeping the sacrifices?" the Gallade suddenly asked, feeling empty outside of the spotlight, "We must've missed it, we were in a bit a hurry…"

"… Fools! You are too late to change anything!" the Ampharos shouted as the many Pokémon gathered in the cave gave away intimidating growls, "We are moments away from gaining favor with The Legendary Darkrai! We have nothing to fear from you!"  
"Darkrai, eh…?" Pikablu said as he closed his eyes with a smile, "Tell me… Have any of you ever actually met Darkrai? What makes you think he even wants sacrifices?"  
"Do not let doubt sway your minds, brothers and sisters!" the Ampharos chanted as she lit a few sparks which flickered in the cave, "Remember Forbidden Forest!"  
"Hmpf…" Pikablu huffed as he opened his eyes with a serious look on his face, "Legendaries aren't deities… They're still just Pokémon, like you and me."  
"If that is how you feel, our actions should pose no harm…" a Duskull from the crowd whispered in a surprisingly loud voice, "… Why not leave us…?"  
"I could do that… _Or,_ I could kick your asses and save a few lives while I'm at it" Pikablu snickered as he thought back to a particularly traumatic day in Goldenrod a few years ago, "… Besides, Darkrai is a bit of a loose cannon. Who knows what gets off on? Better not take any risks."

"Infidel! Speaking so vulgarly of our master!" the Ampharos cried, stomping down on the altar and causing a loud bang, "Who do you think you are!"  
"Me?" Pikablu asked before pointing to himself, "I am The Legendary Pikablu!"  
"The… The what?" the Duskull from earlier whispered, "The event in Cerulean City three years ago? Was that not a natural disaster?"  
"No, that's just what they told the public…" Pikablu said with a confident smile, "Truth is, it was all me!"  
"Cocky prick!" the Ampharos bellowed, tried of the Pikachu's silly charade, "Everyone! First we show these morons what happens to those that try to stop, then we commence with the sacrifice!"  
"If you do that, you're just going to hurt a bunch of innocent people and yourselves!" Pikablu shouted back as the various Pokémon prepared themselves for battle, "… Seems that we'll be handling that last part for today!"  
"I'll kill you myself!" the Ampharos yelled, making a giant leap from the altar, landing on the ground with a mighty crash and joining in with the crowd.  
"Bring it, bitch!" Pikablu laughed triumphantly as he charged at the enemy, followed closely by Kabutops and the Gallade.

Although there would be few eyewitnesses to this event that were not beaten senseless, people would speak of this as well as their many other accomplishments for decades to come.

**"Thunderbolt" Pikablu**

**The Indomitable Kabutops**

**Lead singer and dancer of the Lethal Lily, the Gallade**

Together, these three formed a combination. Not exactly heroic in their actions, but always attempting to make the world a better place to live in. Following their own code of justice they were revered by some and loathed by others, although universally feared by depraved villains and the morally corrupt.

_They became known as_

**The Legendary Trio!**

**

* * *

**

And so, yet another story comes to a close. Canon ends here, and insanity begins. See, for this story I used the End Notes to show switch perspectives and show different events, and I never got to break the fourth wall!

My only regret is that we never got to have a big get-together with all the characters from this story and Evo's Gate, and thus I've assembled everyone to…

"So, what the hell are you supposed to be?" Pikablu asks mockingly while looking over Snivy.  
"… The Pokémon who will steal your popularity away…?" Snivy replies smugly.  
"Watch it!" Pikablu warns, "I'm four generations older than you!"  
"You do appear to have all the intelligence of a caveman" Snivy sneers.  
"What was that!" Pikablu shouts while grabbing his ears, "All I heard was 'Oh, mighty Pikablu, please kick my ass!'"  
"Your delivery needs tact, which you lack" Snivy says angrily, "If you had some, maybe you wouldn't have wasted your life on such a useless quest."  
"Oh, that's IT!" Pikablu yells while forming an electric aura, "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"

"Hey sis, whose idea was it to put those two crazies in the same room?" Zerobi snickers.  
"Speaking of crazy, would you mind telling me why you committed genocide while I was away?" Celebi asks with a stern tone.  
"Yeah right, like YOU never did anything weird when YOU were a teenager!" Zerobi sneers.  
"… Point taken…" Celebi says, scratching her head in embarrassment.

"I love your backrocks!" the Rock-Eeveelution beams happily at Kabutops.  
"… Your gabbros are exceptional." Kabutops replies.  
"Hey man, watch it!" Astrid says with a blush and a dangerous tone, "I don't swing that way!"  
"… Hmm?" Kabutops mumbles surprised, "… What is your name?"  
"Astrid!"  
"…" Kabutops stares in disbelief.  
"I'M A MAN, DAMN IT!"

"My grace! What is this vision of elegance yet feistiness before me!" the Gallade says before hunching over Eve with a big smile, "Hey, little lady! What's the name of that girl over there?"  
"… Zerobi?" Eve responds, looking confused.  
"Ah, such a sharp name, hiding her warm cuddly insides with a cold exterior!" the Gallade swoons while hugging the air.  
"No, she's totally cold in there too…" Eve mutters, "… Didn't she kill you?"  
"She's… Uh, what?" the Gallad asks, stopping dead in his tracks.  
"You know, 'the white one'? In the cave?" Eve continues, "I think she cut your head off and threw it down a pit."  
The Gallade's mouth drops.  
"… WHAT!"

"You ain't got a prayer!" Umk laughs, taking a swig from the bottle in front of him.  
"I used to be quite the drinker'n my old days, y'know!" the Dragonite shouts, also drinking heavily.  
"Me too!" Umk replies in a dazzled tone, "Yesterday, today… Uh… Tomorrow!"  
"I can't believe I lost to a bloody Pikachu!" the Dragonite suddenly starts weeping, "He aimed for my horns! What was I to do!"  
"I know, I know…" Umk says in a not-so-reassuring way, "Hey… Y' don't think a girl like you and a goo like me could ever…"  
"… What?" the Dragonite interrupts while instantly sobering up, "NO! NEVER! NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!"  
"Hello? You didn't let me finish! I wasn't going to suggest that at all!" Umk quickly says, "I just wanted an innocent game of mud wrestling!"

"Hey, you must be Zerobi, Celebi's little sister…" Pikablu says as he reaches out his hand, only to notice her big claws.  
"Man, how do you even function with those things?" Pikablu asks while nervously withdrawing his hand.  
"… Weren't you the one busy fighting Snivy?" Zerobi says after a while.  
"Oh yeah…" Pikablu mutters while looking behind his shoulder at a pile of ashes, "… He's too busy fighting death at the moment."  
"SNIVY!" Eve screams while running over to the incapacitated lizard.  
"I w-win against an Ice type, b-but lose against an Electric type!" Snivy sputters with blood pouring out of his mouth, "Who w-wrote this crap!"  
"… You know these people?" Celebi asks with a depressed look.  
"Not really, no" Zerobi sighs, "Even though I was the only character to be featured in both stories…"

"LIES, RIGHT NOW!" the Scizor shouts from outside while banging the window, "MY TIME OF GLORY SHALL COME, SOMETIME SOON!"  
"Don't worry, pal…" the Armaldo says while patting him on the back, "… I know how you feel."  
"Cheer up!" the Ledian giggles, "Grab a cup… At Ledian's Café!"  
"That would be nice, right now…" the Scizor says with a shudder, "… I feel rather sad, tonight…"

"So, sis…" Zereobi says after Pikablu leaves, "What's with all the sexual tension between you two?"  
"S-Sexual t-tension!" Celebi stutters in shock "There is none! I told you, I'll die if I get involved with that!"  
"Oh yeah?" Zerobi snickers, "Then what about that life-size Pikablu plush I found hidden at the bottom of 'the pit of no return' with the many razor sharp leaves and vicious plants guarding it?"  
"T-That's…!" Celebi exclaims while blushing feverishly, "How did you…"  
"Braved, climbed, cut and froze" Zerobi smiles.  
"No one was supposed to…" Celebi whispers while covering her face in shame, "… OK, so maybe I experimented a little once or twice… J-Just in the purpose of research!"  
"Haha! Nothing wrong with that!" Zerobi laughs quietly as to not drag attention, "Although now that we're on the subject, there's this thing with blood that you've GOT to try out…"

"Hey, I don't see Astrid around…" the Gallade says while leaning against a wall next to Kabutops, "Uh, you know, the one with wings."  
"She couldn't make it" Kabutops says bluntly, "She's… Resting."  
"Again!" the Gallade bursts out, "What the hell are you doing to her?"  
"I understand your confusion" Kabutops says while shaking his head, "The manners of reproduction have changed quite a bit in the last century."  
"… Oh really? How?" Zerobi asks in a curious way as everyone listens in, "Heh, this should be good…"  
"Well…" Kabutops explains, "We usually start out by…"

10 seconds later, Kabutops is thrown through the window, crashing down on the ground outside.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" the Dragonite yells endlessly, wobbling from the alcohol.  
"… And now it's in my head forever." Zerobi says with a dead look in her eyes.  
"**&% HELL!**" the Gallade snaps, "**I SLEPT NEXT TO HIM!**"  
"… You know, I don't see what's wrong with that!" Astrid says cheerfully, "I mean, all they did was…"

Astrid quickly followed Kabutops.

"Oh, l-legendary C-Celebi!" Eve stammers with tears in her eyes, "Surely you have some kind of mind-erasing technique for this!"  
"Believe me, I'm going to get working on one as quickly as possible…" Celebi mutters, relieved to know that she will never feel the urge to mate ever again.

… mingle. Uh, yeah. Anyway, I've invited a special guest for today's event! One of the most popular Pokémon ever, still reigning as one of the strongest, I present to y-GLRRRK!  
(No.) Mewtwo's voice echoes in my head while c-choking me, (I shall not partake in this.)  
F-Forgive this pitiful human! Your mere presence might help boost the popularity of this story, so-GHHZZZ!  
(I am fully capable of crushing your being with but a mere flick of my finger. NOW EXCLUDE ME OR THAT IS WHAT SHALL HAPPEN!)  
O-OK! OK! Geez, that… That was a bad idea… But hey, at least we got him for a few seconds, right!  
"Huh?" Pikablu asked while curiously examining the ghost Eeveelution, "Oh, sorry, we were all busy bleaching our brains. What happened?"  
… Oh. Never mind… I did have this other special guest, probably not as interesting, but I brought him back just because I can, so maybe you can have some fun or something, I don't know, well anyway, here he is…

"Big bro…" Pichu whispers quietly, silencing everyone in the room. Pikablu abruptly stopped poking the ghost and rose to his feet.  
"P-Pichu…?" Pikablu stammers in shock, "Is… Is that really you…?"  
"B-Big bro… I'm sorry I…" Pichu starts, but is cut off as Pikablu runs up to him and hugs him tightly.  
"Stop" Pikablu says with tears flowing down his cheeks, "You… You don't have anything to apologize for…"  
"B-But I did a bad thing!" Pichu says as he starts crying as well, "You told me not to go after Celebi, and… And…"  
"Y-You're my little brother…" Pikablu cries with both sadness and happiness, "You do what you w-want, I'm the one who was 'sposed to look after you…"  
"… Big Bro…?" Pichu suddenly says as he looks behind Pikablu, "Is that… C-Celebi?"

Celebi gets a startled look on her face, blushing wildly.

"A-Are you two friends!" Pichu screams in excitement, looking at his brother.  
"Uhhh…" Pikablu stuttered as he and Celebi looked at each other, "I-I guess you could say that…"  
"Awesome!" Pichu yells while jumping up and down, his earlier sadness completely gone as he makes a few leaps to Celebi.  
"Hey!" Pichu says gladly.  
"Uh… H-Hello, there…" Celebi responds awkwardly.  
"Um…" Pichu says in an embarrassed tone, "Can… Can I touch you?"  
"W-What!" Celebi bursts out before looking over at Pikablu, who gave her a quick nod with a smile she'd never seen before, "… OK."  
Pichu hastily reaches out and gives her leg a quick touch.  
"… I knew it! It's like a flower! I told you she was just like a flower!" Pichu laughs happily while bouncing around, "Hey! Hey! Big bro! I wrote something here for everyone!"  
"Oh?" Pikablu asked while still smiling, "What is it?"  
"It's a p… po…" Pichu struggles to find the word, "… Poem!"  
"Alright then, let us hear it!" Pikablu said as everyone gathered around Pichu. Pichu held up a document in front of him, and cleared his throat.

"Eh… Um… What separates legendaries from me and you?" he starts, as Celebi smiles brightly.  
"It cannot be rarity, for Kabutops are few!" he continues, while Kabutops chuckles to himself.  
"It cannot be actions, since nothing is all they do…" he mumbles a bit, making the Gallade laugh.  
"It cannot be strength, some are stronger than Mewtwo!" he says, looking over at Pikablu who nods.

Although if only in a dream and for a passing moment, the two brothers were reunited at last. Finally, they were allowed to feel true happiness once more.

* * *

If I may be serious for a few moments, I have a request for everyone who has finished reading the story Forever Legendary (Everyone else? WHY ARE YOU READING THIS PART FIRST THERE ARE SPOILERS EVERYWHERE GO BACK).

I want you to tell me everything you **hated** about it. Poor phrasings, unlikable character traits, uninteresting/useless plot developments… As many of them as you can remember!

See, I am still far from the writer I plan to be, and only by identifying my weaknesses can I begin erasing them. However, I will never be able to read this story from an objective viewpoint, and cannot locate them. Only you - The Reader! - has that ability. If not for you, writing this story would have been a complete waste of time, and my dreams shall never be realized.

You have already granted me the highest honor by reading this far… But help me with this, and I promise that I'll work myself to the bone in becoming a great writer some day!

I'm counting on you!


	6. Chronology

This story is actually the second part of a Trilogy, starting out with **Occult Magazine: Evolution's Gate** (complete), continuing with **Forever Legendary** (complete) and ending with **The Human Species** (ongoing). All the characters and events of Forever Legendary are both present and relevant in these other stories, and I GUARANTEE you'll like them if you liked this, so you totally want to check them out!

Might make up for the fact that this is in no way a genuine chapter. Betcha saw "Chronology" and thought it was going to be all that time-travel business, eh? Unless, you know, you read Evo's Gate before this, where I used the same joke. So, to make it up for you, I'll post an image of the Legendary Crono from Chrono Trigger, doing what he does best:

What, no images? Bah, just have the chronology of the series, then!

Series Chronology

**Year 1-3:** Occult Magazine, Evolution's Gate  
**Year 4-7:** Forever Legendary (Main storyline)  
**Year 7 1/2:** Mew's Christmas Carol  
**Year 8:** Forever Legendary (Extra Chapter 3)  
**Year 10:** The Human Species


	7. EXTRA CHAPTER: The Gallade Finds A Girl

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**NOTICE!**

This is a very short spoiler-less side-story to "Forever Legendary", **and not the final addition which will be uploaded this weekend**. The final addition is getting kind of long, and I hate simply holding on to stories, so I'm uploading this thing now. Made as a request, made on a whim, made with love. Enjoy!  
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"I-It cannot be!" the Gallade stammers, "Who are these three beauties, firmly placed in front of me?"  
"Uh… We're Team Charm…?" Gardevoir says with a worried look, "Are you OK…?"  
"CHARMED!" the Gallade replies quickly as he started spinning around, "Such curves! Unmatched elegance! It is as if I am looking into a mirror, only that it's a female version of me!"

"Man, you're weird!" Medicham shouts at him, "She IS a female version of you!"  
"Oh my, what is this!" the Gallade spins around to face Medicham, "So bold! So brave! Your body aches with stress, crying out for a real man!"

"A real man?" Lopunny scoffs sarcastically, "Yeah, a real man. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any of those around…"  
"A-Amazing! Better than I had expected!" the Gallade yells as he looks over Lopunny, mostly ignoring her words, "A personification of lust, one that positively shines of feistiness!"

"Um… This is not…" Gardevoir starts, but stops herself as the Gallade starts talking again.  
"But… There are three of them!" he cries to himself in desperation, "How will I ever choose!"  
"Oh…" Lopunny says with a menacing smile, "You don't need to choose at all..."  
"Y-You mean…" the Gallade gasps, misinterpreting her smile, "A… A threes-No wait, a **FOURSOME!**"

The three girls left as soon as the Gallade was lying in a puddle of his own blood.

"Dumbass" Medicham mutters.  
"Jerk" Lopunny mumbles.  
"Silly man…" Gardevoir whispers.

"Somehow, I can't help but feel that I am partially responsible for this…" the Gallade whispers, his world turning into a strange haze.

"Oh my!" a voice suddenly comes from somewhere, "You poor man! A-Are you OK?"  
"Huh…?" the Gallade mumbles as the haze got thicker, "… I can't see anything…" The voice was serene and pure, like that of an angel.  
"Wait, hold still, I'll help you…" the voice says, and the Gallade felt soft little hands touching him. While he couldn't see anything, he knew tiny hands like these must belong nothing less than an exceptional beauty.

"There!" the voice says after a while, and the Gallade feels that he has been wrapped in bandages from head to toe, "Can you stand?"  
"… Yeah" the Gallade says while still in a daze and slowly getting up, "… But my eyes… And the bandage… I can't see."  
"What could you possibly have done to deserve this?" the voice asks in concern.  
"I'm not sure, but…" the Gallade starts, but realizes that admitting to receiving an apocalyptic beatdown from three girls doesn't sound as manly as one would think, "… Yeah, I'm not sure at all… But… Thank you for helping me…"

"O-Oh!" the voice says with an embarrassed tone, "I-It was no problem!"  
"Listen, I…" the Gallade says, not feeling too cool being wrapped up like a Desukan, "I want to thank you. How does dinner sound? On me, of course!"  
"D-Dinner!" the voice chimes, absolutely flustered, "B-But I couldn't… Your eyes…"  
"It's the least I can do!" the Gallade laughs before cursing his natural charm and attempting to justify it, "I mean, you'll have to guide me since I can't see anything…"  
"I…" the voice responds in defeat, "… OK."

The dinner turned into a date, and the date turned into a show which the Gallade found to be surprisingly enjoyable despite being unable to see anything. Both he and the girl were happier than ever before, as they spend their days together doing silly things and having a wonderful time. Then, one night a few weeks later…

"Great news!" the voice the Gallade had gotten to know so well by now says, "Today is the day that we can finally take off your bandage!"  
"… Really?" the Gallade chimed, having gotten used to merely sensing the people around him, "Ah, finally! About time!"  
"And now, you can finally see what I look like!" the voice giggles happily. This set the Gallade's thoughts into motion.

An image of a Gardevoir passes through his head, and he sighs contently. Then, an image of a Chansey appears, and he almost chokes on his own tongue in fright. He had gotten to know her so well over these past weeks, what if she turns out to be a monster? Would he be able to stay with her, or would he have to abandon the one girl that he truly cared for…?

"… You know what?" the Gallade whisperes as he moves close to her, "Let's keep them on for just one more night…"

Swallowing his fears he embraces her, joining in a passionate kiss that would last throughout the night.

Perhaps even longer.

"So..." Kabutops mumbled, "... That is the story behind the Onix girl you dated."  
"Yes!" the Gallade exclaimed cheerfully.  
"Why...?" Pikablu cries angrily, hating himself for not having stopped the Gallade earlier, "Why? I told you not to tell us this! Why would you tell us this! ARGH!"  
"Isn't it interesting to know just how small they can get?" the Gallade replied cheerfully, "... And it's funny how soft and graceful even rocks feel when you're dying..."  
"Well then, tell that story again and you can prepare yourself for pillow heaven!" Pikablu shouted, using every fiber of his body to keep himself from ending his loyal, if maybe a bit strange companion as they continued their journey out of Ilex Forest.


	8. EXTRA CHAPTER: Armaldo and Ledian

Content feelings washing over him.  
Calm mingling surrounding him.  
Cup of Lum Berry Brew.

The Armaldo sighed deeply as he leaned back in his seat, enjoying yet another sunny afternoon outside Spinda's Café.  
"SO! THIS IS WHERE YOU'VE BEEN HIDING!" an angry voice sounded as he saw an angry Ledian approaching him with anger. Sighing even deeper, he took another sip from his brew.  
"Listen, I am not traveling across the world searching for someone who jumped the tab for only one meal…" the Armaldo said taking the initiative, knowing that even if he did find the Pikachu he would just get his ass kicked again.  
"I don't mean that!" Ledian kept going, "THIS! HERE! WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU AT MY CAFE!"  
"Well…" the Armaldo said, struggling to change the subject, "Why aren't you?"  
"Because I needed to go all the way here to get your lazy ass back!" Ledian yelled, making the Pokémon at the other tables stare. The Armaldo couldn't stop thinking about some poor bastard at Ledia's Café sitting and waiting for a meal that's never going to come.  
"Wait, you mean… You closed the café for the day?" the Armaldo suddenly said, "… I really mean that much to you…!"  
"You know I can't afford to lose any regulars!" Ledian said sincerely, "You're all I've got!"  
"L-Ledian…!" the Armaldo stammered, once again falling under her spell, "You… You really do care! I'll follow you forever!"

"Um, excuse me…" they heard a sound from below them, "You are bothering the other customers…" Looking down, they saw a very tiny Spinda looking up at them with dazed eyes.  
"Oh, I'm not a customer…" Ledian said as the Armaldo smacked his forehead, "I'd need to have a death wish to eat at this place!"  
"Um…" the Spinda mumbled confused as the other guests listened in, "… Excuse me?"  
"Just how many Shuckles did you kill in order to make this berry juice!" the Ledian shouted accusingly, making a nearby Butterfree spit out her drink in shock.  
"Wait, we didn't…" the Spinda started, before being interrupted.  
"Berries grow in forests!" Ledian continued, going on a tirade, "I don't see any forests nearby, how can you possibly claim that your ingredients are fresh?"  
"We grow them in a…" the Spinda started, but now everyone was mostly ignoring his weak voice and only listening to the raging Ledian.  
"These Pokémon are looking for a flavorful and healthy drink after a long hard day of work, and what do you offer them!" Ledian shouted before picking up the cup of Lum Berry Brew in front of the Armaldo and drinking it.  
She tasted it for a moment, swishing the liquid around in her mouth before contorting her face in anger.  
"This corporate sludge, filled with condiments yet empty on content…" she growled in disgust, "THIS is the reason I opened up my own Café! Not for the useless money, and not for the boring regulars!"  
"… Eh?" the Armaldo exclaimed, completely entranced by her charisma.  
"Words cannot even describe how horrible this brew is!" Ledian shouted as she threw her many arms up into the air, "Don't believe me? Try a place like Ledian's Café, and I guar-No, I SWEAR that you will never go someplace like this again!"

"… 'Bouncers are too expensive', I said…" the Spinda mumbled to himself, "'Happy customers don't make a scene'…"  
"YOU!" Ledian shouted while pointing at the Armaldo, "Where will you be going now?"  
"Uh…" the Armaldo said, "… Ledian's Café?"  
"Sounds like a great plan!" Ledian laughed cheerfully, "I, too, shall go there! Goodbye, dull and dreary drinks!"  
The two of them left with a crowd of people staring at them, a few of them leaving their tables as well.  
"We…" the Armaldo started talking as they walked away, "… Drank from the same cup."  
"Isn't this great!" Ledian giggled happily, "I managed to turn this situation into a sales pitch, just like that!"  
"… That's…" the Armaldo continued, his face heating up, "… An indirect kiss."  
"Huh?" Ledian asked, having been lost in her own little world, "What was that?"  
"Oh… Never mind…" the Armaldo mumbled.  
"Don't worry!" Ledian snickered, "I'll get you some REAL brew once we get back to my Café! From what I tasted, that stuff must've been horrible to force down!"

The Armaldo could still feel the taste of the Lum Berries on his tongue, and honestly thought it was slightly better than what he was used to.  
However, even that familiar taste was washed away as he imagined the taste of Ledian's lips.

"It was… Terrible" he said, as they went along their way.

About a year later, Ledian was caught by a trainer passing through Ilex Forest as she was picking berries. Stubborn as ever, the trainer couldn't get her to listen to him and stuffed her in the daycare center of Goldenrod, where she would eventually be forced to breed with whatever the trainer could find.

After Ledian's Café had been closed for two days in a row, The Armaldo set out on his own journey to locate her. He only had to make it to Goldenrod to find her, and broke into the daycare to save her. The local authorities issued an "Renegade Pokémon" warning, and they were chased down by the police. The officers were very powerful, but fighting side by side they managed to make it back to Ilex Forest, where the other regulars of Ledian's Café came running to lend them a hand.

Making it back to Azalea Town, Ledian's Café was reopened. Business started to flourish after this event, as Ledian and the Armaldo became a local legend. A couple, defying even the law in the name of love.

While Ledian was always too busy with work to spend much time with him, at long last the Armaldo felt that he had finally found what he had been longing for all this time.

Content feelings washing over him.  
Calm mingling surrounding him.  
Cup of Lum Berry Brew.


	9. EXTRA CHAPTER: Kabutops and the Gallade

**In death, we are all equal in the sense that nothing matters.**

**In that respect, only a fool would trade even a day of his life for immortality in legend.**

**It is not immortality in the true sense of the word…**

**But what if one's life wasn't in the true sense of the word, either…?**

* * *

Four years have passed since the event known as _The Legendary Pikablu_ shook the very core of the world. Winter was approaching, the color leaving the trees in the large stretch of wood known as Viridian Forest. With barely a week left until snow was expected to start falling, the Pokémon were in haste to prepare themselves for yet another cold season. The Kakuna and Metapod would cling to a branch somewhere and remain largely unaffected, while the Caterpie and Weedle dug burrows underground as the Butterfree and Beedrill left for warmer climates, a select few staying behind to look after their young ones.

The impending change did little to slow down those simply passing through, as two creatures wandered around the outskirts of the forest, oblivious to the hardship surrounding them…

"… What a tragedy" the Gallade said with uncharacteristic sorrow in his voice.  
"Yes" Kabutops said bluntly while nodding his head, "Poor Anne."  
"Apparently Pikablu's devastated by it too" the Gallade sighed before giving off a short snicker, "… Although I can't quite picture that in my head…"  
"Astrid and I… We were worried about the same thing when we first started…" Kabutops said a bit slower than usual, "Seems like we're fine, but they…" Kabutops trailed off, as they both became silent.

"… Hey" the Gallade said after a while, "You don't think it might be because of that legendary-killing technique?"  
"Well… He claims that Celebi keeps him patched up…" Kabutops sighed depressingly, "But who knows? It damages the inside of your body…"  
"Yeah…" the Gallade sighed as well, but then quickly regained his normal cheerfulness, "And from what I hear, Celebi's not too familiar with that particular part of the body!"  
"There is nothing amusing about this" Kabutops said sternly while giving off an angry glare, "When you have children of your own, perhaps you will understand the extent of this tragedy."  
"Children? Me? Never!" the Gallade laughed, "I'm not that selfish! It would grace the heart of one fangirl, while breaking thousands of others!"  
"At any rate, Pikablu won't be in the mood for any of this" Kabutops continued while ignoring his tall counterpart, "At least pretend that you're mourning once we get there."  
"Aw, come on!" the Gallade pleaded, "I'm sad, I really am! Just that there's no use in getting wrapped up in-"  
"P-Pikablu!" a loud, violent voice sounded from somewhere above them, "You said 'Pikablu'! I heard it!"

They looked up and saw a large green Pokémon descending upon them. As it got nearer, it moved back a bit as to not land on them, gracefully setting down on the ground.  
The creature had a long neck and tail like that of a snake, but also arms, legs and large wings. Sticking out of its head were two long antlers, reaching behind it like a newly combed backslick. Red bubbles covered its eyes and made them look compound, which would make people confuse it with a Bug-type Pokémon… But they were all too aware that it was in fact a Flygon.

"You!" the Flygon yelled, pointing at them with its short arm, "I'd recognize that face anywhere… You're the Gallade in that famous band!"  
"Uhh… It's called the 'Lethal Lily', but whatever…" the Gallade corrected her, looking at her antlers with admiration.  
"And that form…" the Flygon continued, "… You must be the Indomitable Kabutops!"  
"Yeah, we're them" the Gallade said in a huff, somewhat jealous that he didn't have a cool title like his friend, "We're in bit of a hurry, what do you want?"  
"Pikablu!" the Flygon replied quickly, "Show me to him!"  
"What do you want with him?" Kabutops asked.  
"Isn't it obvious!" the Flygon bellowed while clenching her fists, "I'm going to kill him!"

"Man, this…" the Gallade said while looking at Kabutops with a smile, "… Brings back memories, doesn't it?"  
"Why do you want to kill him?" Kabutops continued asking, completely unfazed by the ordeal.  
"You know! Don't pretend you don't know!" the Flygon shouted accusingly, "You were there when Pikablu destroyed my poor cousin!"  
"I…" Kabutops started before trailing off, "… You will have to be more specific."  
"My sweet cousin! On top of the Bell Tower!" the Flygon kept shouting as they started at her with confusion, "She's a Dragonite!"  
"Oooohh… THAT one." the Gallade exclaimed while slapping his arms together, "… Uh, what happened, again?"  
"Whatever happened, my cousin has never been the same since that day!" the Flygon began telling her story while clenching her fists tighter, "She went from an energetic and strong woman to a whimpering mess. She won't even leave her den, she's so frightened! She just sits there all day… Frightened of the world… Ruining her children by being an overprotective mother…"

"What, so she _still_ hasn't gotten over it?" the Gallade asked surprised, "And Pikablu was even kind enough to NOT paralyze her for life!"  
"He did worse…" the Flygon said bitterly, "He completely broke her. Reduced her to nothing."  
"Pikablu asked your cousin a question, and she didn't answer" Kabutops suddenly said, not moved in the slightest by her story, "So she fought... And lost."  
"He didn't have the right to do anything!" the Flygon yelled angrily, "My cousin didn't want to fight! She was completely innocent in all of this!"  
"Actually, Pikablu did nothing to cause her lasting damage" Kabutops said, "… It seems to me that anything occurring after the battle is something she has only herself to blame for."  
"… You're a good father, but holy shit do you suck at psychology" the Gallade mumbled while hitting his forehead as the Flygon fumed in rage, "We get it. Pikablu did bad. Now what?"  
"I already told you!" the Flygon bellowed, "He must pay for his crimes! I'll kill him!"  
"Listen, I'm certain Pikablu would normally comply with your request" the Gallade said confidently while shrugging his shoulders, "But he will most likely not be in the mood today. His first child just became stillbor-"  
"You think I care!" the Flygon interrupted loudly, "I care as much as he did when he traumatized my poor cousin for life!"  
"… Yeeeaaahh…" the Gallade said in a drawn out way while looking at Kabutops, "Well, see, we're kind of his friends, and we care. We're not going to let you bother him today."  
"… Then, I'll beat you both up until you tell me where he is!" the Flygon said as she leaned foward while extending her wings in a threatening manner.

"Uh… So…" the Gallade whispered to Kabutops, "You wanna fight her?"  
"Not really, no…" Kabutops sighed.  
"… Well, one of us is gonna have to!" the Gallade said, looking at the green beast in front of him.  
"Then I suggest you do it" Kabutops replied in a stubborn way, "She might have a weakness against that sissy ballet of yours."  
"Hell no!" the Gallade exclaimed while throwing his arms into the air, "I just had shows four nights in a row, I'm completely spent!"  
"That is nothing. The kids just learned how to dig…" Kabutops mumbled while letting his arms fall in defeat, "… I've been chasing them around so much I think I've turned into a Rock/Ground dual type…"  
"You think I'm just going to let you stand there and talk! Fight me!" the Flygon interrupted them with a violent shout and a flap of her wings.  
"Hey, maybe we _should_ lead her to Pikablu?" the Gallade said happily, "He'll fry her good!"  
"Some friend you are…" Kabutops said before sighing deeply, "… Fine. I'll do it."  
"Yes! Thanks!" the Gallade said cheerfully while making a short leap of joy, "You're the best! And don't worry, I'll back you up if necessary!"  
"More like you'll ditch me and go searching for Ho-Oh or something…" Kabutops muttered under his breath as the Gallade ran a few steps away and left him alone with the Flygon.

"I will be your opponent" Kabutops said while staring at the Flygon.  
"Well, duh" the Flygon replied, smiling a little.  
"Know that I come from a violent period of time. In battle, I am nothing short of a savage beast…" Kabutops warned her, "Give up early, or you will die." Kabutops held out his scythes in the hopes of intimidating her, the moonlight reflecting in them like a crystal and giving his brown shell a pale shine.  
"Don't you worry about that!" the Flygon said confidently while moving back a little to avoid close combat, "The moment you tell me what I want to know, I'll be on my way!"

Suddenly Kabutops withdrew his scythes, and keeping them close to his sides he started walking towards the Flygon.  
"Too slow!" she shouted, as a large torrent of fire started spewing from her mouth. The flames ignited the area between them before reaching Kabutops, who appeared to be completely unaffected and simply kept on walking.  
"Nice defenses… Try this one, then!" the Flygon kept going, emitting a horrible screech from her two horns in the hopes of lowering his guard. Kabutops didn't even flinch at this, but stopped anyway.

"Pathetic" Kabutops sighed while closing his eyes, "Evolution has denied you earlids, it seems. Allow me to demonstrate…"

Kabutops struck a pose where he appeared to hug thin air for a moment, before suddenly grinding his scythes against one another at a high speed, creating an extremely loud and piercing noise. Both the Flygon and the Gallade had to cover their ears, as Kabutops shut out the sound with his earlids and moved towards her at the same pace as before.

"Grr…!" the Flygon growled as she was shaken by the noise and flew back for protection. In an instant, Kabutops slow walk turned into a speedy flight as a stream of water shot out from behind him, propelling him like a rocket. Kicking off from the ground, the Flygon managed to push herself straight up and dodge him in the very last second.

"Aqua Jet!" she shouted before flying high up into the air, "You're a Water-type!" Kabutops thrust his scythes down into the ground to stop himself, before turning around and looking at her in silence.  
"Whatever!" she yelled in rage, "Water, rock… They all explode the same!" With that, she fired a massive Hyper Beam from her mouth. Kabutops was surprised at how fast the attack came out, and so he had to jump up with all his strength to avoid the beam. The beam struck the ground, creating a great explosion with a shockwave that threw him even further into the air, all while creating a big crater in the ground.

"You're mine!" the Flygon exclaimed cheerfully, "Let's see if you've gotten better at taking Grass-type attack!" She began charging up a Solar Beam, thinking that Kabutops wouldn't be able to move in midair and getting ready to finish him off.

Before she knew it, he was right in front of her. Shooting another stream of water behind him, he had propelled his body through the air. The Flygon was completely defenseless since she was preparing her attack, and so Kabutops slashed her with his scythes, creating two large gashes in the shape of an X across her chest. Blood sprayed from the impact as he collided with her, before falling to the ground and leaving her behind.

The Flygon struggled to keep herself flying as the pain increased with each movement, but the wound was deep and she slowly dwindled down to the ground where Kabutops was awaiting her. Not receiving enough oxygen due to the loss of blood, she collapsed on her stomach as she reached the ground, dirt and grime rubbing into her open wound.

"Whoa, this looks familiar!" the Gallade said loudly before making his voice raspy to try to imitate Pikablu, "_Now tell me what I want to hear, or your children gets it!_"  
"You're not helping…" Kabutops sighed as he approached the shaking body of the Flygon. She looked up and saw him get nearer, hopelessly trying to get away. Unable to move, she closed her eyes in horror as a scythe covered in blood quickly approached her head.

But instead of feeling cold metal cutting through her neck, she felt a gentle pat on her head.  
"Revenge is an endless cycle" Kabutops said with a stern voice, "You shall be the one to break it." The Flygon looked up again to see that he had touched her with the flat side of his right scythe.  
"Pikablu had his reasons for fighting that Dragonite, and so you have your reasons for fighting him…" Kabutops continued, "I now absolve you of that responsibility. I will tell him of your plight."  
"You… Think…" the Flygon said weakly, her voice quickly diminishing.

"Oi, Kabutops!" the Gallade shouted as he ran up to them, "Look at all that blood! We've got to get her some help soon, or she'll really die!"  
"Hmm…" Kabutops said slowly as the Flygon couldn't keep her head up any longer and crashed her face down into the reddened ground, "Pikablu needs us too, you know."  
"Yeah, but…!" the Gallade said with trace amounts of desperation in his normally cool voice, "We owe her for that Dragonite, and I'm not just letting her die like this! I'll teleport the two of us-"  
"Three" Kabutops interrupted, "But I really am worried about Pikablu, so let us be quick."  
"R-Right!" the Gallade replied quickly as he placed his arm on the Flygon and held out the other one for Kabutops to hold on to, "Come on, hurry up!" Kabutops tried grabbing on to the Gallade a little too fast, accidentally sticking his scythe into his arm.

"OW! Son of a-" the Gallade exclaimed in pain, as the three of them vanished, leaving behind nothing but a big crater, some blood and a large amount of hidden onlookers, all of them very surprised at this abrupt ending.

* * *

**Before life, we are all equal in the sense that nothing matters.**

**But eventually we come to life, gaining unlimited potential.**

**The potential to do good deeds, as well as the potential to bring terror.**

**The new child might save the world or destroy it, or make no impact at all.**

**So in one sense, bringing death to someone unborn is redundant.**

**While in another, it is the greatest sin one can commit.**

**In this haze of uncertainty, only one thing is for sure.**

**That their fate shall forever be unknown, if they are never even born…**


	10. Trivia: Chapter 4 and 5

Did you manage to "catch 'em all"? If not, here's a cheat sheet for what you might've missed in The Legendary Pikablu and The Legendary Trio!

**The Legendary Pikablu**

_A few miles north of Cerulean City, located in the middle of a steep, treacherous range that only flying creatures or the extremely stupid would ever attempt to scale, the tall Hilltop Mountain stands. It was in fact a volcano, named differently as it has been dormant for centuries and considered to be completely safe._

Named after the Hill Top Zone in Sonic 2, which techincally is more like a set of mountains… With lava!

_"We're a day early, even…" Pikablu said while looking at the clock he had stolen from the trainer in Ilex Forest, "Good. Wouldn't want to miss this on account of Ho-Oh not being punctual."_

In case you were wondering just how badly this legendary-killer beat the novice trainer back at the end of the first chapter. She threw all her belongings at him to make him go away, but at least she didn't black out like in the games…

_"Actually, we might not even get that if they're early" Pikablu snickered while stretching his neck, "Again, you don't have to do any of this. Go home and be a family man!"_

That last part is from Street Fighter II, it's something Guile says when he wins… Even if his opponent was female. Always cracks me up.

_"I did while we were talking, and even though I hate to admit it…" the Gallade said mysteriously, "… There's definitely something strange here."  
"Strange?" Pikablu asked with a confused look, "Strange, how?"  
"Can't really explain it, I've never felt anything like it before" the Gallade said with a shudder, "… Gives me the creeps."_

The Gallade already knows it's Kabutops, but the two of them love freaking out Pikablu by having him pop up out of nowhere.

_Pikablu held his fist in front of him in a gesture, and Kabutops held out his sharp scythes. Then he lifted his right foot and held his leg out, which Pikablu headbutted._

Handshake? Pikablu has short arms and Kabutops has no hands. Also, headbutting someone as a friendly gesture? That's hardass.

_"So, what happened?" the Gallade asked, "On our end, it was like… '-let go!', or something."_

Remember the end of chapter 3? "Idiot, don't-" the Gallade yelled as both he and Pikablu vanished.

_Everything turned white for an instant as lightning fell from the clouds above and struck down into Pikablu. He screamed loudly as a large blue aura surrounded him, strong electrical currents spiraling the area like flying snakes. Little by little the aura shrunk, and Pikablu's screaming receded._

Down+B in Super Smash Bros. Make sure you kick some serious ass after doing it! Also, using a Violent Seed in the Explorer series. After that, you'll be kicking asses automatically.

_She clapped her hands together, causing her skin to turn purple. The new skin became softer and softer, before she suddenly dashed at Pikablu who was preparing a counterattack. However, halfway down she halted herself, causing the purple skin to fly off her and fall on the ground next to Pikablu in a purple puddle. Pikablu recognized the smell of the purple substance right away._

_"Toxic!" Pikablu exclaimed in an insulted tone, "What the hell, you think I'm a bloody plant!"  
Celebi clapped her hands together again, and this time a clear, blue liquid covered her body. Flying forward in a twist, she threw this liquid on the poison puddle._

_"Wait, that's…" Pikablu whispered as he looked over at the puddle, "… Oh. I see what you were trying to do." Pikablu barely had time to finish his thought before Celebi threw out her arms, creating a lightning strike that hit the puddle. In an instant the puddle exploded, throwing poison-laced water everywhere. Pikablu saw this and jumped high into the air, where he saw Celebi quickly approaching.  
"Shit!" he shouted and unleashed electricity at her, which she easily dodged before flying around him._

Celebi uses Toxic, Water Pulse and Shock Wave, all three of which she learns from TMs in the games. Now, TMs make even less sense than Pokeballs, so in this world she learned them from reading books. What do you normally do when you're home alone with nothing to do? Read! You of all people should know that, Mr. I-Enjoy-Trivia!

_"I am not as adapt with the elements as Mew…" Celebi said, having shoved many sharp tendrils into Pikablu, "… But Grass and Psychic are far from my only means of attacking!"_

Mew, of course, being famous in the games for being the only Pokemon with the ability to learn every TM in existance (Therefore, every move if the series keeps going). In this story, she's just able to use attacks from every type, but her psychic powers are only surpassed by Mewtwo.

_He struggled to move, trying to remember if he even once succeeded in moving after Anne had covered him in stun spores when they were young._

Metapod evolves into Butterfree as early as level 10, meaning that they're probably still young by the time they hit their final evolution and learn Stun Spore.

_"Ahaha, you've got to be kidding me…" Pikablu started laughing while trying to pull his arms free, "You legendaries, much too high and fine for someone down and dirty like me, eh? Bloody f-"_

He was trying to say "Bloody f-tard", which I'm pretty sure is not even a word. If it is, I fear for the English language.

_"My kind in particular has a special quirk" Celebi started telling her story, "When we give birth, our psychic powers are transferred into our child. The mother is left without any powers, and usually dies right away… That is why the name of Celebi lives on for much longer than the actual being. I flinched at those words earlier because I fear sexual activities, and avoid them as a survival instinct."  
"Sounds like a boring life…" Pikablu sneered, "… But it sounds even more like a boring story."  
"With my mother, something never heard of before occurred" Celebi continued, ignoring Pikablu's comment, "After giving birth to me, she managed to live on for a full year and gave birth to yet another child, my sister Zerobi."  
"However, as all of mother's powers had already been transferred into me, Zerobi was born a normal Pokemon…" Celebi said while looking up as the black clouds above them growled, "… A Dark-Type even, completely devoid of all psychic abilities."_

Celebi is a virgin, but not by will. Pikablu has been getting it on with Anne for quite some time, and had a very short relationship with another Pikachu before that.  
Inter-species breeding is actually canon to the Pokemon franchise! While Celebi and Zerobi have the same mother, they have different fathers, Zerobi's being a Weavile. Normally you can't beat the genes of a legendary, but their mother was so weakened from the birth of Celebi that Zerobi's inherited most traits from her father. (THIS IS NOT HOW GENETICS WORK IN REAL LIFE)

If you're wondering, Celebi's mother was called 'Celebi' and looked just the same as her daughter, but with a blue tone to her skin. Disappointing, no?

_"L… I mean, my caretaker… Did not see my sister as a legendary, and left her to be raised among normal Pokemon. I was too young to do anything about it, and Mew became like a sister to me instead" Celebi continued with sadness in her voice, "She still is, but…"_

Lugia, the father of Latios Latias Zapdos Moltres Articuno became a surrogate father to Celebi after her mother's death. After three years Gritania took over that role, and taught her the ways of the world.

_"You fool!" Celebi suddenly shouted, "Killing me will not bring your brother back!"_

KILLING ME WON'T BRING BACK YOUR GODDAMN HONEY!

_"Hey…" Pikablu said in a disjoined way as the clouds above were starting to rumble, "If you have 25%... And add 50%... What do you get…?"  
"37.5%!" Celebi quickly responded.  
"… Really?" Pikablu asked in a confused tone, "Damn… Anyway, prepare yourself… For 75%!"_

I had this attack all planned out until I actually tried adding 50% to 25%. In my native language we have a way of separating between '10% + 10% = 20%' and '10% + 10% = 11%'. I have no idea how to do that in English, so I made a joke out of it instead. Whoever said you couldn't make it big by sucking at math?  
Also, this attack is Pikablu's Smash Ball… Attack… From Super Smash Bros Brawl. In the Explorer series, try linking two Discharges together! Burns through the PP, but kills everything in the room.

_"-uck, so damn close…" Pikablu muttered._

"Rotten luck, so damn close…"  
… Yeah right.

**The Legendary Trio**

_"Whatever, I don't really care…" Pikablu said in a huff, still hurting from head to toe, "More importantly… How did you save me? Now that I think about it… How did you save yourself?"_

Celebi's ability is Natural Cure, which heals status effects when she's withdrawn from battle. Now, I could say something cheesy like "The instant the battle ended she was healed", but rather the few moments they were lying paralyzed was enough for her to recover.

_"More like lonely…" Celebi sighed and sunk back to her previous position, "Truth be told, I rarely get to talk to anyone who's not Mew, so just this conversation is the most exciting thing… OK, second most exciting thing that's happened as of late."_

She's acting cool, but the previous battle left her scarred. She eventually got over it, though.

_"Speaking of which…" the Gallade started, before trailing off completely.  
"… Huh?"_

Before the Gallade could answer, an armor-clad figure suddenly burst out of the ground between them, making Pikablu jump back in surprise and almost falling off the cliff. It had a hard brown shell with what appeared to be extra large shoulder pads clinging to his back.  
"Kabutops, you fuc…" Pikablu started angrily but stopped himself as he looked closer at the shoulder pads, "You… You brought your kids?"

Again, those two love scaring Pikablu. Honestly, he's had it up to here with that shit.  
Also, the kids are named Kabuta and (DATA EXPUNGED). They are twins and two years old.

_They approached the edge of the cliff when suddenly Kabutops stopped and looked back on the dress on the branch behind him, and then staring at the Gallade.  
"… I always had a feeling…" Kabutops muttered, and the Gallade looked at him in confusion before they followed Pikablu._

A crossdressing homosexual? In MY story? Well, you know what they say about guys that simply can't find a girl… Do we ever actually see him with a girl outside of his own stories? Seems like he'd much rather hang around with Pikablu and Kabutops…

_"Do not let doubt sway your minds, brothers and sisters!" the Ampharos chanted as she lit a few sparks which flickered in the cave, "Remember Forbidden Forest!"_

… Referring to the story "Equinox-Kanto", written by MetalChick and TehZombieWaster and which beat out my story in the Occult Theme Contest. I'm not going to explain every piece of trivia from that, so go read it if you want to know what's going on!


End file.
